"Do you need a ride to the clarinet sectional?" I asked Cara that
Friday.
"You're going?" she asked, surprised. I had barely gone to any sectional at all for any section all season so far- the field commanders have to be invited. Neither Haley nor I had gone to many. If neither of us got invited to some sectional we usually went out to a fast food restaurant as a field commander sectional instead.
"Don't sound so surprised," I teased Cara. Since she was like all of our little sister it gave us free reign to both love and taunt her. She took it well, she was a good sport. "The section leaders invited me yesterday. Now, stop trying to change the subject and answer the original question."
"Did you hear what happened in my English class today?" Cara cried suddenly, a giant grin on her face. I knew she was teasing me back.
"CARA!" I cried back.
She laughed and said, "No, I don't. I have a dentist appointment today, go figure, so my mom is going to pick me up in about ten minutes and drop me back off at report time." Cara paused for a second, then added, "Which is 6:00, right?"
"Right," I smiled. "Well, I'll see you then, I guess. We'll miss you, you know."
We hugged and she added before she walked out the door, "Right. I'm TOTALLY the life of the party!"
"Get out of here!" I laughed.
The only thing I didn't know is that Cara really did get out of there and we really did miss her.
I left the sectional earlier than anyone else, because Haley and I had decided to meet at 5:30 to practice really quick. Haley, the two band directors, and I were the only ones at the school. The directors were doing some work in their office and Haley and I were stuck in the practice rooms (which smell like a zoo, by the way) trying to direct without music and without decapitating each other. We worked until about 5:50, when our arms hurt too much to move much longer, and went out into the band room, where many, many Bandies had chosen to congregate. I caught snippets of some conversations as I walked to my locker to put my music away and get my whistle out.
"Did you guys see it?"
"Yeah, it was horrible. I hope no one got hurt."
"I could barely get around. I'm glad we left early, we would have been so late."
"It looked like a three car pile-up."
"It was two cars, you moron, the third was the first police car."
"Wow, that was a really bad one, then."
I was so confused. I guessed that everyone was talking about a car accident nearby, which I did not know had happened. At almost exactly 6:00, Haley called the band to attention (loudly). A police man walked from the office with our band director, Mr. Andrews.
"Please sit down," Mr. Andrews said. Once we were all seated on the band room floor, confused, he continued, "This is Officer Frie. He has something to tell you all."
The man known as Officer Frie stepped forward. "Your fellow band member, Cara Jackson, has been involved in an incredibly serious two-car automobile collision right out here on Hard Road. The car she was a passenger in was hit passenger-side by a car driven by a drunk driver. That car was going far over the speed limit and slid out of control. Mrs. Jackson is fine and told us to tell you this. Cara Jackson is severely injured, has fallen into a coma, and the life flight is on its way to pick her up."
"You're going?" she asked, surprised. I had barely gone to any sectional at all for any section all season so far- the field commanders have to be invited. Neither Haley nor I had gone to many. If neither of us got invited to some sectional we usually went out to a fast food restaurant as a field commander sectional instead.
"Don't sound so surprised," I teased Cara. Since she was like all of our little sister it gave us free reign to both love and taunt her. She took it well, she was a good sport. "The section leaders invited me yesterday. Now, stop trying to change the subject and answer the original question."
"Did you hear what happened in my English class today?" Cara cried suddenly, a giant grin on her face. I knew she was teasing me back.
"CARA!" I cried back.
She laughed and said, "No, I don't. I have a dentist appointment today, go figure, so my mom is going to pick me up in about ten minutes and drop me back off at report time." Cara paused for a second, then added, "Which is 6:00, right?"
"Right," I smiled. "Well, I'll see you then, I guess. We'll miss you, you know."
We hugged and she added before she walked out the door, "Right. I'm TOTALLY the life of the party!"
"Get out of here!" I laughed.
The only thing I didn't know is that Cara really did get out of there and we really did miss her.
I left the sectional earlier than anyone else, because Haley and I had decided to meet at 5:30 to practice really quick. Haley, the two band directors, and I were the only ones at the school. The directors were doing some work in their office and Haley and I were stuck in the practice rooms (which smell like a zoo, by the way) trying to direct without music and without decapitating each other. We worked until about 5:50, when our arms hurt too much to move much longer, and went out into the band room, where many, many Bandies had chosen to congregate. I caught snippets of some conversations as I walked to my locker to put my music away and get my whistle out.
"Did you guys see it?"
"Yeah, it was horrible. I hope no one got hurt."
"I could barely get around. I'm glad we left early, we would have been so late."
"It looked like a three car pile-up."
"It was two cars, you moron, the third was the first police car."
"Wow, that was a really bad one, then."
I was so confused. I guessed that everyone was talking about a car accident nearby, which I did not know had happened. At almost exactly 6:00, Haley called the band to attention (loudly). A police man walked from the office with our band director, Mr. Andrews.
"Please sit down," Mr. Andrews said. Once we were all seated on the band room floor, confused, he continued, "This is Officer Frie. He has something to tell you all."
The man known as Officer Frie stepped forward. "Your fellow band member, Cara Jackson, has been involved in an incredibly serious two-car automobile collision right out here on Hard Road. The car she was a passenger in was hit passenger-side by a car driven by a drunk driver. That car was going far over the speed limit and slid out of control. Mrs. Jackson is fine and told us to tell you this. Cara Jackson is severely injured, has fallen into a coma, and the life flight is on its way to pick her up."