((a/n: okay. . . I'm hoping this won't suck. This isn't the only story I'll
write. . . once I finish last year's story, which is this, I'll move on to
this year's. This year's I'm sure will be much better because I was
actually there and experiencing the marching band thing first hand, as
supposed to here where I watched it all from afar while still being part of
it. Now my main problem is what to call this. . . this, I guess, group of
books. There is this story, then the next one I write, and then if my
friends continue to try to talk me into joining Innuendo guard then that
will be another story altogether. So, I'm trying to figure out what to call
this group of stories. If any of you have any ideas, suggest it in your
reviews. That would be really smashing. That's all for now))
There it was. . . the high school. It was yet another day for practice, and here I was walking up the road to the high school from our middle school. Another long walk to practice. But I was getting used to it because by now it was a routine thing.
A car next to me honked. How distracting! The car honk drove me from my thoughts. . . whatever they were. I turned, but instead of seeing a normal car honking at me, it was Mrs. Loren in her car. She smiled and waved, stopping and rolling down the window. "Come on in, I'll give you a ride." Mrs. Loren said. I smiled; relieved I didn't have to walk again. "Thank you!" I said. She opened the door and let me get in and drop my bookbag on the floor. "You're welcome. I really shouldn't be doing this but I can do it this once." She said. "Thanks." I replied. She started a drive up to the high school.
"I talked to Mr. Piquano." She said. I turned to look at her, fearful of the outcome. What did he say? Was he going to kick me out of marching band altogether? "Well, you know how you do that interesting little dance sequence in the beginning?" She said. "Yes." I replied. I knew that sequence. . . there was a part in the beginning where we all had these cloak things and would do this sort of dance with. Then we'd all drop our cloaks on the front sideline, pick up the flags, and go into doing flagwork.
"Well, he said that he can't keep you in for the entire drill. If he did, then at championships there would be a large hole and the judges would notice that." I nodded. "He wanted to kick you out of the marching band altogether, but I managed to talk him out of it. I got him to make a compromise. . . that you do the dance sequence in the beginning, and then stand at the front sideline for the rest of the show." She explained.
A compromise? She managed to compromise with the unmoving Mr. Piquano? How was she able to do that? I didn't know. . . my mind was still busy trying to process all this. So as Mrs. Loren had it, I would only be in the opening dance sequence and not the rest of the show. But she managed to talk him into letting me stay? That was. . . very good. As strange as it sounded coming from me, I didn't want to be kicked out. . . not now. Not after all of this. "Okay," I said, when my mind was finally able to comprehend. "So what do you want me to do?" "Well, after the dance sequence is over and everyone drops their cloaks at the front sideline, you can collect them all and then stand at the front sideline." She said, continuing in her explanation.
"Oh, I see." I said. So that's what I'd be doing. . . doing one sequence and then collecting cloaks and standing at the front sideline. "Do you want me to start today?" I asked. "Yes, better get into the habit of it." Mrs. Loren sighed. "It was the best I could do." She said. "That's okay." I replied. "It was good enough."
So we got to the school. I thanked Mrs. Loren for the ride, then went inside. "Hey." Alora said to me, waving. "I have your flags. . ." she sounded uncertain of this fact, even though she held my flags. "No," I said, sighing. "I won't need them." "What? Why not?" "I'll tell them all before practice starts." Mrs. Loren said to me, coming in behind me and then going into the band room. "Okay" I replied. "Tell us what?" Nelly asked, poking my arm. "She'll tell you. Let me have those." I took my flags from Alora, putting them back in the band room. They were both looking at me very suspiciously.
After we all went up to the field and set up in a block, Mrs. Loren called us all to her. I knew what was coming, and stood by Alora and Nelly for support. "You might have known this already, but Christine is going to be in Florida for the week of championships, and she is going to miss them." Mrs. Loren began. Alora raised an eyebrow at me, while Nelly just blinked, bewildered. The other guard members looked at me with a look of surprise. Mrs. Loren then went on to talk about what she and Mr. Piquano had come up with. . . my standing at the sideline and collecting the cloaks. It was short, luckily, because then he called the practice to begin. I sighed, secretly glad. . . and yet not glad. . . that practice was starting. "It's okay," Cara said to me. "Stuff like this happens all the time." But I could tell by her voice that she was disappointed. Nowhere near as much as I was. The rest of the guard seemed to understand, but they too were sad that I wouldn't be joining them fully. "That's ridiculous." Alora said. "Just ridiculous. Maybe your parents will let you stay with me for that week when they go to Florida!" She suggested. "I'd like to, but I doubt my parents will let me." I replied. "Alas, too true." Alora replied, shaking her head.
We set up in our drill spots, beginning the practice. I took my cloak and put it on, feeling the heavy silk around me. ~I know where my drill spots are~ I thought. ~I really do.~
The show opened up, and I walked out onto the field. The dance sequence went well. . .I did it well because I knew it pretty good. Then the end of the first song (and the dance sequence), we all ran to the front sideline. ~Now what?~ I thought. ~Okay. . . get the cloaks. That's what Mrs. Loren told me.~ Not really knowing what else to do, I ducked down low and scooped up as many cloaks as I could. When I was finished I dropped them all alongside some of the pit equipment. "Stand over there," Mrs. Loren hissed as she walked passed me, directing the guard. "Near the 35 and the 40." I nodded, and scurried over to stand there.
And I did. . .I stood there. I stood there and heard the music, and couldn't help but think, ~I know where my drill spot is. I really do.~
Lucky for me, Nick the Drill Guy decided that he wanted to go over the beginning part of the show several times. I was glad for that, it meant that I could actually march on the field. The practice went fairly well, except I still felt this sense of distance. . . like everything seemed so far away and yet I was right there with it. One day I was in the field marching, part of the marching band, and the next moment I was on the outside, gazing in at what I was part of. It was so very strange.
"Alright." Said Nick. "As you all know, this Saturday is our first competition. It's at Virani High School, and that's about 45 minutes away. It's the very first competition so I'm not expecting a super high score, a first place, or anything. But I will be expecting all of you to go out on that field and do your best."
Do my best. Yes, I would, wouldn't I? What ~would~ I be doing, anyway? I honestly didn't know.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~Saturday~
The words "First Competition", even though I wouldn't be doing flagwork, still gave me this feeling of. . . wow. First Competition. Really, say it with me. . . First Competition. For my entire marching band career. . . however long or short it would be. . . this would be my First Ever Competition. I've never competed before, I don't know what it's like, and even in my little spot by the front sideline, I'd still know that I would be competing.
The practice was short. . . gasp. A short practice. Mrs. Loren continued to instruct me in the ways of gathering cloaks and standing on the front sideline. And I myself still didn't like this. . . I stared at the people marching and wished like anything that I could join them. They looked so together, so marching. . . And I still knew where my drill spots were.
Soon after our practice was over, we loaded the trucks and changed. Changing this time was somewhat more organized. . . we had no guard members falling all over each other. I suppose we were now getting more experienced in putting on our uniforms. But I still wore the uniform. . . and that still signified me as part of the guard.
I dragged all my stuff onto the bus and dropped into the seat by Alora and Nelly. "I get the window!" Nelly proclaimed. Somehow, the three of us squashed ourselves in the little two seater. I got the aisle seat, and managed to stick one leg out into the aisle to keep my balance. Half my butt cheek was on the seat, half off. I balanced on my foot. The bus gave a lurch, and then was off. "Wow. . . first competition." Alora remarked to me. Of course, that was probably the only thing said to me on the bus today that actually made some sense. Around me, I heard snatches of conversations from the other band members. None of them had anything much to do with marching band. . . mostly things such as, "Can I have half of that sandwich?" or "And then he took my paper and ran out of the room!" or even "Yeah, I like chorus." The only conversation I heard that was relatively related to marching band was, "Hey, that's my plume! Give it back!" The bus gave a sharp turn, sending me knocking into the seat across the aisle. I stuck out my arm, hitting part of the seat and keeping me from falling completely out of the chair. "How'd I know that was going to happen?" I said, shaking my head. Nelly grinned and squashed farther in in the chair, allowing me to get my other butt cheek more of the way onto the seat.
Eventually, after about a 45 minute ride, we arrived at Virani High School. It was a big high school. . . I couldn't even see the field from where we were. The band had almost finished changing (they changed on the bus, and to this day I can't figure out how they do that), and we were ready. I hoped we were ready. Some random person came on the bus and stamped all of our hands. I looked down at the stamp. . . a little Snoopy. "What's this for?" Nelly voiced. "It's so we can get back in after we load the trucks." Kat said behind us. She was sitting with Carrie. "Aha." Nelly said, sitting back down.
We got off the bus, exchanging a few words and fixing whatever part of our uniforms that needed to be fixed. Mrs. Loren came to us, herding us all to the truck to get our stuff. The other guard members took their flags in their arms, and then took their own cloaks. I took mine off the rack, putting it over me and tying the string around my neck. I had to admit, as much as these cloaks seemed like a burden, they were kind of cool. Cloaks were always cool, to me at least.
We found ourselves practicing in a little section off to the side. There was a fence in front of us and some trees. We set up in a block, I in the back. Mrs. Loren first directed us to go over the cloak work, and I felt glad for that. It gave me something to do. But then, alas, they had to practice the flagwork, and I just stood there and watched them. I knew that work. I really did. And I could do it, too.
Suddenly, there was a call of, "Okay, the band is lining up!" Upon that, all the guard scrambled to get their flags and cloaks together. "Guard, line up alongside the band and get ready! We're marching on soon!" I took my cloak and flung it over my shoulders, following the rest of the guard over to the band. They were lining up in the usual way, the way they always line up to march onto the field. As usual I stood in between Danni and Shelley. We marched to a short cadence up to this spot alongside the school. I could see the field from here. . . see the band that would be ending their performance shortly.
A wave of sudden nervousness caught me off guard. What was there to be nervous about? It was just. . . just. . . Just my first competition.
As always, a usual exchange of "good lucks" went around, both through the band and the guard. I wrapped my cloak tight around me, not so much securing myself against the wind as trying to shoo my nervousness away. I had performed this show before! I ~knew~ it!
"Band, atten HUT!" Called the drum major. I snapped into attention just like all the rest as the drummers started their cadence. This was it. . . this was really it. . . my first competition. I marked my feet with the beat, and then we marched off. "Don't look at the field," Hissed a trombone player next to me, noting my fearful glance at the field. "It's bad luck." Heeding the trombone player's words, I averted my gaze from the field to the lights over the field.
"Now entering the field. . ." I heard the announcer blare and echo throughout the entire field. Now I ~had~ to look at the field. . . we were marching right into it. "The Ponra High School marching band!" "SPLIT!" Called the drum major. The band went into the back of the field to warm up, and the guard went to set up all their flags. I didn't go with them, instead I ran back to the starting line of the show and stood there. I felt the field crunching under my thin marching boots, felt the wind tugging at my cloak. . . and also felt this sense of pride. Yes, I was proud of this marching band, even though our season has barely begun.
The band ran out into their positions at the field, and the guard came to stand where I was. "Are the judges ready?" The loudspeaker blared. "Is the band ready?" He continued. ~Is the guard ready?~ I thought. ~They never ask that question.~ "Ponra High School, you may now take the field in competition!" And with those final judges' words, my first competition. . . began.
"Bum. . . bum bum. . ." The first drums of the show began. I stood up, striking my pose with my cloak. "Bum bum bum. . ." Shelley struck her pose. "Bum bum bum bum. . ." That was the final set of opening beats. The music began, and I began my routine. I knew this cloak routine, every bit of it. Unfortunately, the selection of music that the cloak work went to ended all too quickly. The guard ran to the front sideline, ducking down and throwing their cloaks onto the ground. They picked up their flags and went into the next routine, and I. . . I went about my job. I hunched over low, scooping the shiny and slippery cloaks up into my arm, and praying that no one really paid much attention to me. Gladly finished, I dropped the cloaks all by the pit equipment and went to stand by my designated spot.
Briefly, I lifted my head. I knew that song, I could hear it in my ears. I saw them doing the flagwork that went with it, and moving in their drill spots and I couldn't help but think, ~I still know my drill spots.~
~LATER~
After our show was over, we really didn't have much time to do all else. We loaded the trucks and put all the stuff away before we went back to the stands. Awards were soon. . . very soon. We all piled into the stands and sat close to each other. I watched the last band perform, and my then my nerves were very tense. Talie, as guard captain, went with the drum major to see the awards. When the awards were called, the drum major, field captain, and guard captain would have to be on the field to receive the awards. We all wished Talie good luck as she went out.
The bands next to us didn't' seem to look tense at all. They looked confident, like they actually knew what they were doing! I hoped that from where we sat, we did as well. Alora sat close to me. We both here and there exchanged looks of nervousness. What would become of this? Did we even ~know~ what would become of this?
"Come on, we have to show those other bands who we are!" Shouted Cara, running down to the bottom of the bleachers and staring up at us. "Cheer! Shout! Whatever!" She waved her hands, evidently wanting us to be more enthusiastic. As if catching her enthusiasm, Andy, a saxophone player, ran down next to her. "WHEN I SAY 'BOO' YOU SAT 'YATT'!" He screamed at all of us at the top of his lungs. "BOO!" He shouted. "YATT!" We all replied. "BOO!" "YATT!" "WHEN I SAY 'BOO' YOU SAY 'YATT'!" "BOO!" "YATT!" "BOO!" "YATT!" I shouted along with them, getting caught up quickly in what I'd someday know as "a marching band high." I shouted the words back at him (even though I had no idea why we were shouting this) and got this amazing sensation of pride and togetherness from everyone.
"Awards!" Blared the loudspeaker. Andy and Cara darted back up and into the stands, taking their places by the stand rails and looking out onto the field. My eyes widened as I looked toward the field, feeling this anticipation and excitement. "Come on, come on. . ." Alora hissed next to me. I bit my lip. "Fifth place in group IIa. . .Shawngrove High School!" Wherever that high school was, I could hear them cheering. "Fourth place. . . Metro High School!" Likewise, that band started their cheering. The rest of us only grew more tense. . . this had to mean that we made it into the top three!
"Third place. . . with a score of 78.3. . .Ponra High School!"
That was us. . . wait a minute, THAT WAS US! THIRD! Suddenly, it didn't matter that we made only third, that two other schools got a higher score. Who cares what their score was? All the announcements made after that were drowned out in a bout of screaming and cheering, shouting until our throats were hoarse. I cheered as loud as I could, my voice blending with the rest as we all jumped up and down. Nelly gave me a big hug, I hugged her back. The sudden joy surprised me. . . it shocked me how amazing I was feeling! And for a third place, no less! "YEAH!" Cara screamed. "TAKE THAT!" She yelled to the band next to us. Andy stuck his fingers in his mouth and gave a shrill whistle. "And we also won best percussion!" Shouted the percussion section leader. I didn't hear that announcement through all the noise, but I'd definitely take their word for it.
We all ran down from the stands, nearly trampling each other to get to where the drum major and Talie were. "THIRD!" The drum major shouted, holding up the trophy triumphantly for us all to view. "And best percussion!" Added the field captain. We all managed to scream ourselves hoarse one more time before alas, we had to go back to the bus.
Back at the bus, emotion still ran high. All the drummers had these big stupid grins plastered on their faces, and even I, who was standing at the front sideline, felt a sense of accomplishment. Third place, at my first ever competition, was something that I thought was very very good! "We did it! Congrats, all!" Talie said. Mrs. Loren just wore a large grin, congratulating each of us in turn. The bus ride home was great. . . everyone was so happy and so high on marching band that it was just. . . great.
By the time I got home later that night, my parents were sharing my victory. "Congratulations." They said. "YES!" I replied, unable to contain my joy.
And if this was anything like what the rest of the season would be like. . . then, even in the position I was in, I couldn't wait.
There it was. . . the high school. It was yet another day for practice, and here I was walking up the road to the high school from our middle school. Another long walk to practice. But I was getting used to it because by now it was a routine thing.
A car next to me honked. How distracting! The car honk drove me from my thoughts. . . whatever they were. I turned, but instead of seeing a normal car honking at me, it was Mrs. Loren in her car. She smiled and waved, stopping and rolling down the window. "Come on in, I'll give you a ride." Mrs. Loren said. I smiled; relieved I didn't have to walk again. "Thank you!" I said. She opened the door and let me get in and drop my bookbag on the floor. "You're welcome. I really shouldn't be doing this but I can do it this once." She said. "Thanks." I replied. She started a drive up to the high school.
"I talked to Mr. Piquano." She said. I turned to look at her, fearful of the outcome. What did he say? Was he going to kick me out of marching band altogether? "Well, you know how you do that interesting little dance sequence in the beginning?" She said. "Yes." I replied. I knew that sequence. . . there was a part in the beginning where we all had these cloak things and would do this sort of dance with. Then we'd all drop our cloaks on the front sideline, pick up the flags, and go into doing flagwork.
"Well, he said that he can't keep you in for the entire drill. If he did, then at championships there would be a large hole and the judges would notice that." I nodded. "He wanted to kick you out of the marching band altogether, but I managed to talk him out of it. I got him to make a compromise. . . that you do the dance sequence in the beginning, and then stand at the front sideline for the rest of the show." She explained.
A compromise? She managed to compromise with the unmoving Mr. Piquano? How was she able to do that? I didn't know. . . my mind was still busy trying to process all this. So as Mrs. Loren had it, I would only be in the opening dance sequence and not the rest of the show. But she managed to talk him into letting me stay? That was. . . very good. As strange as it sounded coming from me, I didn't want to be kicked out. . . not now. Not after all of this. "Okay," I said, when my mind was finally able to comprehend. "So what do you want me to do?" "Well, after the dance sequence is over and everyone drops their cloaks at the front sideline, you can collect them all and then stand at the front sideline." She said, continuing in her explanation.
"Oh, I see." I said. So that's what I'd be doing. . . doing one sequence and then collecting cloaks and standing at the front sideline. "Do you want me to start today?" I asked. "Yes, better get into the habit of it." Mrs. Loren sighed. "It was the best I could do." She said. "That's okay." I replied. "It was good enough."
So we got to the school. I thanked Mrs. Loren for the ride, then went inside. "Hey." Alora said to me, waving. "I have your flags. . ." she sounded uncertain of this fact, even though she held my flags. "No," I said, sighing. "I won't need them." "What? Why not?" "I'll tell them all before practice starts." Mrs. Loren said to me, coming in behind me and then going into the band room. "Okay" I replied. "Tell us what?" Nelly asked, poking my arm. "She'll tell you. Let me have those." I took my flags from Alora, putting them back in the band room. They were both looking at me very suspiciously.
After we all went up to the field and set up in a block, Mrs. Loren called us all to her. I knew what was coming, and stood by Alora and Nelly for support. "You might have known this already, but Christine is going to be in Florida for the week of championships, and she is going to miss them." Mrs. Loren began. Alora raised an eyebrow at me, while Nelly just blinked, bewildered. The other guard members looked at me with a look of surprise. Mrs. Loren then went on to talk about what she and Mr. Piquano had come up with. . . my standing at the sideline and collecting the cloaks. It was short, luckily, because then he called the practice to begin. I sighed, secretly glad. . . and yet not glad. . . that practice was starting. "It's okay," Cara said to me. "Stuff like this happens all the time." But I could tell by her voice that she was disappointed. Nowhere near as much as I was. The rest of the guard seemed to understand, but they too were sad that I wouldn't be joining them fully. "That's ridiculous." Alora said. "Just ridiculous. Maybe your parents will let you stay with me for that week when they go to Florida!" She suggested. "I'd like to, but I doubt my parents will let me." I replied. "Alas, too true." Alora replied, shaking her head.
We set up in our drill spots, beginning the practice. I took my cloak and put it on, feeling the heavy silk around me. ~I know where my drill spots are~ I thought. ~I really do.~
The show opened up, and I walked out onto the field. The dance sequence went well. . .I did it well because I knew it pretty good. Then the end of the first song (and the dance sequence), we all ran to the front sideline. ~Now what?~ I thought. ~Okay. . . get the cloaks. That's what Mrs. Loren told me.~ Not really knowing what else to do, I ducked down low and scooped up as many cloaks as I could. When I was finished I dropped them all alongside some of the pit equipment. "Stand over there," Mrs. Loren hissed as she walked passed me, directing the guard. "Near the 35 and the 40." I nodded, and scurried over to stand there.
And I did. . .I stood there. I stood there and heard the music, and couldn't help but think, ~I know where my drill spot is. I really do.~
Lucky for me, Nick the Drill Guy decided that he wanted to go over the beginning part of the show several times. I was glad for that, it meant that I could actually march on the field. The practice went fairly well, except I still felt this sense of distance. . . like everything seemed so far away and yet I was right there with it. One day I was in the field marching, part of the marching band, and the next moment I was on the outside, gazing in at what I was part of. It was so very strange.
"Alright." Said Nick. "As you all know, this Saturday is our first competition. It's at Virani High School, and that's about 45 minutes away. It's the very first competition so I'm not expecting a super high score, a first place, or anything. But I will be expecting all of you to go out on that field and do your best."
Do my best. Yes, I would, wouldn't I? What ~would~ I be doing, anyway? I honestly didn't know.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
~Saturday~
The words "First Competition", even though I wouldn't be doing flagwork, still gave me this feeling of. . . wow. First Competition. Really, say it with me. . . First Competition. For my entire marching band career. . . however long or short it would be. . . this would be my First Ever Competition. I've never competed before, I don't know what it's like, and even in my little spot by the front sideline, I'd still know that I would be competing.
The practice was short. . . gasp. A short practice. Mrs. Loren continued to instruct me in the ways of gathering cloaks and standing on the front sideline. And I myself still didn't like this. . . I stared at the people marching and wished like anything that I could join them. They looked so together, so marching. . . And I still knew where my drill spots were.
Soon after our practice was over, we loaded the trucks and changed. Changing this time was somewhat more organized. . . we had no guard members falling all over each other. I suppose we were now getting more experienced in putting on our uniforms. But I still wore the uniform. . . and that still signified me as part of the guard.
I dragged all my stuff onto the bus and dropped into the seat by Alora and Nelly. "I get the window!" Nelly proclaimed. Somehow, the three of us squashed ourselves in the little two seater. I got the aisle seat, and managed to stick one leg out into the aisle to keep my balance. Half my butt cheek was on the seat, half off. I balanced on my foot. The bus gave a lurch, and then was off. "Wow. . . first competition." Alora remarked to me. Of course, that was probably the only thing said to me on the bus today that actually made some sense. Around me, I heard snatches of conversations from the other band members. None of them had anything much to do with marching band. . . mostly things such as, "Can I have half of that sandwich?" or "And then he took my paper and ran out of the room!" or even "Yeah, I like chorus." The only conversation I heard that was relatively related to marching band was, "Hey, that's my plume! Give it back!" The bus gave a sharp turn, sending me knocking into the seat across the aisle. I stuck out my arm, hitting part of the seat and keeping me from falling completely out of the chair. "How'd I know that was going to happen?" I said, shaking my head. Nelly grinned and squashed farther in in the chair, allowing me to get my other butt cheek more of the way onto the seat.
Eventually, after about a 45 minute ride, we arrived at Virani High School. It was a big high school. . . I couldn't even see the field from where we were. The band had almost finished changing (they changed on the bus, and to this day I can't figure out how they do that), and we were ready. I hoped we were ready. Some random person came on the bus and stamped all of our hands. I looked down at the stamp. . . a little Snoopy. "What's this for?" Nelly voiced. "It's so we can get back in after we load the trucks." Kat said behind us. She was sitting with Carrie. "Aha." Nelly said, sitting back down.
We got off the bus, exchanging a few words and fixing whatever part of our uniforms that needed to be fixed. Mrs. Loren came to us, herding us all to the truck to get our stuff. The other guard members took their flags in their arms, and then took their own cloaks. I took mine off the rack, putting it over me and tying the string around my neck. I had to admit, as much as these cloaks seemed like a burden, they were kind of cool. Cloaks were always cool, to me at least.
We found ourselves practicing in a little section off to the side. There was a fence in front of us and some trees. We set up in a block, I in the back. Mrs. Loren first directed us to go over the cloak work, and I felt glad for that. It gave me something to do. But then, alas, they had to practice the flagwork, and I just stood there and watched them. I knew that work. I really did. And I could do it, too.
Suddenly, there was a call of, "Okay, the band is lining up!" Upon that, all the guard scrambled to get their flags and cloaks together. "Guard, line up alongside the band and get ready! We're marching on soon!" I took my cloak and flung it over my shoulders, following the rest of the guard over to the band. They were lining up in the usual way, the way they always line up to march onto the field. As usual I stood in between Danni and Shelley. We marched to a short cadence up to this spot alongside the school. I could see the field from here. . . see the band that would be ending their performance shortly.
A wave of sudden nervousness caught me off guard. What was there to be nervous about? It was just. . . just. . . Just my first competition.
As always, a usual exchange of "good lucks" went around, both through the band and the guard. I wrapped my cloak tight around me, not so much securing myself against the wind as trying to shoo my nervousness away. I had performed this show before! I ~knew~ it!
"Band, atten HUT!" Called the drum major. I snapped into attention just like all the rest as the drummers started their cadence. This was it. . . this was really it. . . my first competition. I marked my feet with the beat, and then we marched off. "Don't look at the field," Hissed a trombone player next to me, noting my fearful glance at the field. "It's bad luck." Heeding the trombone player's words, I averted my gaze from the field to the lights over the field.
"Now entering the field. . ." I heard the announcer blare and echo throughout the entire field. Now I ~had~ to look at the field. . . we were marching right into it. "The Ponra High School marching band!" "SPLIT!" Called the drum major. The band went into the back of the field to warm up, and the guard went to set up all their flags. I didn't go with them, instead I ran back to the starting line of the show and stood there. I felt the field crunching under my thin marching boots, felt the wind tugging at my cloak. . . and also felt this sense of pride. Yes, I was proud of this marching band, even though our season has barely begun.
The band ran out into their positions at the field, and the guard came to stand where I was. "Are the judges ready?" The loudspeaker blared. "Is the band ready?" He continued. ~Is the guard ready?~ I thought. ~They never ask that question.~ "Ponra High School, you may now take the field in competition!" And with those final judges' words, my first competition. . . began.
"Bum. . . bum bum. . ." The first drums of the show began. I stood up, striking my pose with my cloak. "Bum bum bum. . ." Shelley struck her pose. "Bum bum bum bum. . ." That was the final set of opening beats. The music began, and I began my routine. I knew this cloak routine, every bit of it. Unfortunately, the selection of music that the cloak work went to ended all too quickly. The guard ran to the front sideline, ducking down and throwing their cloaks onto the ground. They picked up their flags and went into the next routine, and I. . . I went about my job. I hunched over low, scooping the shiny and slippery cloaks up into my arm, and praying that no one really paid much attention to me. Gladly finished, I dropped the cloaks all by the pit equipment and went to stand by my designated spot.
Briefly, I lifted my head. I knew that song, I could hear it in my ears. I saw them doing the flagwork that went with it, and moving in their drill spots and I couldn't help but think, ~I still know my drill spots.~
~LATER~
After our show was over, we really didn't have much time to do all else. We loaded the trucks and put all the stuff away before we went back to the stands. Awards were soon. . . very soon. We all piled into the stands and sat close to each other. I watched the last band perform, and my then my nerves were very tense. Talie, as guard captain, went with the drum major to see the awards. When the awards were called, the drum major, field captain, and guard captain would have to be on the field to receive the awards. We all wished Talie good luck as she went out.
The bands next to us didn't' seem to look tense at all. They looked confident, like they actually knew what they were doing! I hoped that from where we sat, we did as well. Alora sat close to me. We both here and there exchanged looks of nervousness. What would become of this? Did we even ~know~ what would become of this?
"Come on, we have to show those other bands who we are!" Shouted Cara, running down to the bottom of the bleachers and staring up at us. "Cheer! Shout! Whatever!" She waved her hands, evidently wanting us to be more enthusiastic. As if catching her enthusiasm, Andy, a saxophone player, ran down next to her. "WHEN I SAY 'BOO' YOU SAT 'YATT'!" He screamed at all of us at the top of his lungs. "BOO!" He shouted. "YATT!" We all replied. "BOO!" "YATT!" "WHEN I SAY 'BOO' YOU SAY 'YATT'!" "BOO!" "YATT!" "BOO!" "YATT!" I shouted along with them, getting caught up quickly in what I'd someday know as "a marching band high." I shouted the words back at him (even though I had no idea why we were shouting this) and got this amazing sensation of pride and togetherness from everyone.
"Awards!" Blared the loudspeaker. Andy and Cara darted back up and into the stands, taking their places by the stand rails and looking out onto the field. My eyes widened as I looked toward the field, feeling this anticipation and excitement. "Come on, come on. . ." Alora hissed next to me. I bit my lip. "Fifth place in group IIa. . .Shawngrove High School!" Wherever that high school was, I could hear them cheering. "Fourth place. . . Metro High School!" Likewise, that band started their cheering. The rest of us only grew more tense. . . this had to mean that we made it into the top three!
"Third place. . . with a score of 78.3. . .Ponra High School!"
That was us. . . wait a minute, THAT WAS US! THIRD! Suddenly, it didn't matter that we made only third, that two other schools got a higher score. Who cares what their score was? All the announcements made after that were drowned out in a bout of screaming and cheering, shouting until our throats were hoarse. I cheered as loud as I could, my voice blending with the rest as we all jumped up and down. Nelly gave me a big hug, I hugged her back. The sudden joy surprised me. . . it shocked me how amazing I was feeling! And for a third place, no less! "YEAH!" Cara screamed. "TAKE THAT!" She yelled to the band next to us. Andy stuck his fingers in his mouth and gave a shrill whistle. "And we also won best percussion!" Shouted the percussion section leader. I didn't hear that announcement through all the noise, but I'd definitely take their word for it.
We all ran down from the stands, nearly trampling each other to get to where the drum major and Talie were. "THIRD!" The drum major shouted, holding up the trophy triumphantly for us all to view. "And best percussion!" Added the field captain. We all managed to scream ourselves hoarse one more time before alas, we had to go back to the bus.
Back at the bus, emotion still ran high. All the drummers had these big stupid grins plastered on their faces, and even I, who was standing at the front sideline, felt a sense of accomplishment. Third place, at my first ever competition, was something that I thought was very very good! "We did it! Congrats, all!" Talie said. Mrs. Loren just wore a large grin, congratulating each of us in turn. The bus ride home was great. . . everyone was so happy and so high on marching band that it was just. . . great.
By the time I got home later that night, my parents were sharing my victory. "Congratulations." They said. "YES!" I replied, unable to contain my joy.
And if this was anything like what the rest of the season would be like. . . then, even in the position I was in, I couldn't wait.