Chapter 2

"Listen up, everyone," Mrs. Varsant said. "We're finally here at State College. Before you get off the bus, I have some instructions for you. The girls are going to be in the building named Stine Hall. The boys will be bunking in Enderson Hall. At no time, under any circumstances, are boys permitted in girls' dorms and vice versa. If anyone is caught, they will be kicked out of the Marching Eagles. Also, you will be given schedules as you exit the bus. First, everyone will be unpacking in their dorms until 11 am, when you will report to the stadium. Alright, have fun."

"Is everyone ready to party tonight?" Scott asked. There was a chorus of "Heck yeah" 's. "I can't wait until we get to mess with the freshmen."

Will turned to me and said, "Do you know where it is?"

"No, but Jen, Kayla, and Trista were going to show me the way."

At the mention of Trista's name, Will's face blanched. "You're friends with Trista? She's stalked me since the eighth grade. She annoys me to no end."

"Well, yes we are friends and I don't find her annoying. She befriended me since I'm new. She's really friendly and outgoing."

"That's because she's not stalking you," Will said pointedly. We stepped off the bus, grabbed our schedules, and went to get our luggage.

"Hey, Will, man stop hogging the babes. You already have Trista who adores you. Don't take the only other hot girl in this band," Scott said from behind us. I'm sure my face turned five shades of red then.

"Like you could get a hot girl if you paid her," Will joked. Scott lightly punched him on the arm and they play-wrestled on the ground.

"Boys, kindly get back to your feet," Mr. Berns said as he passed by.

"Yes, sir," they both said and hopped up.

Just then, Trista came over. "Hey, Katie! How was the bus ride? Ours was boring." Before I could answer, she went on, "Oh Will, I didn't know you were riding this bus!" She grabbed his arm and led him away, leaving Scott and I by ourselves.

"So, um, you know the freshman thing tonight?" Scott asked. Is it just me, or does he look nervous? "Well, I was wondering if you would like to go with me," he paused, "as my date."

I thought for a moment. Isn't this the solution I've been looking for? I don't want to upset Trista and if I go with Scott to the party, then Will will see that I'm not interested. Yet, I don't want to hurt him. On the other hand, Scott is pretty cute and seems like a lot of fun. Will will understand my reasons, right? I realized that Scott was looking at me expectantly. "Oh, sorry. I spaced out for a moment. Sure, I'll go with you tonight. Let's just meet there. That will be easier."

Scott's face lit up. "Okay, I'll see you there." He walked away to his dorm. I grabbed my duffel and went to Stine Hall. I found 6b and opened the door. It was a small, bare room with two bunk beds on either side, and a small table in the middle. There was a tiny closet with a full length mirror on the outside of the door.

"Hey, Katie. Trista's off with Will somewhere, but we're here," Jen said with a grin. She was hanging her clothes up in the closet while Kayla put up posters of Julia Roberts everywhere.

"You do know we're only here for a week, right, Kayla?" I asked.

"I have to put up these posters of my idol. They remind me to be strong and have courage."

I looked at Jen. She shrugged. "Scott asked me to be his date to the party tonight," I blurted out.

Jen raised an eyebrow while Kayla looked positively giddy. "So what did you tell him?" Jen asked.

"I said 'yes'. No big deal. He's hot and he seems like a lot of fun," I said.

"He is. If you want to have fun, he's the guy." Then Jen thought better of what she had said. "Don't take that pervertedly."

Just then, Trista flung the door open. "I had so much fun with Will. We took a walk and got to talk." She sounded like she was in a daze.

"Katie has some news, too," Jen said. "She and Scott are going to the party together."

Trista's face looked relieved for a split second and then changed back to normal. "Scott's an awesome guy. Don't hurt him."

"I'm not planning on it," I said.

"Oh, man you guys, we better go if we don't want to be late to the stadium," Kayla said. I grabbed my piccolo, and Jen, Kayla, and Trista grabbed their instruments. We sprinted all the way down to the field, and by the time we got there, we were out of breath.

"---- break up into sectionals," Johnny was telling the group. All the section leaders shouted for their sections to follow them.

"Drummers, over here on the fifty yard line!" Will was shouting.

"Piccolos! Follow me!" Kayla shouted. I stuck by her. When we got everyone together, she started talking again. "Alright, ladies, and gentleman," she amended when she saw a guy in our midst, "we, for the most part, have the melody so it's important that we sound great. Therefore, I need to rank you based on ability so that we have the people who can reach the higher notes on first part and the others on second." She made all of us play all our major scales, or as many as we could remember. I was ranked the best, next only to Kayla herself. I was proud of myself and looked at the first piccolo part of our show. It was pretty simple. Some of the 16th and 32nd combinations looked tricky but were nothing that hard.

"Alright, piccs, take five. That means just five. Understand?" Kayla said. Everyone said, "Yes".

I went over to the water table because I was about to die if I didn't get a drink. It was stifling hot. The only problem was that the water table was by the percussion.

I walked by without glancing at them, when I heard my name called. "Hey, Katie! Are we still going to the party together?" Scott shouted. I cringed inwardly. There's no use hiding it now. Will would have found out anyway. I put on a smile.

"Of course. Why wouldn't we be?" I shouted back. Scott grinned. I snuck a glance at Will. His whole body was rigid and tense. He looked as if anyone touched him, he would explode. His hands were clenched into fists and he wouldn't even look at me.

"Percussion, take a break," he said. They all set their drums on the grass and started talking. Will made a beeline for me.

"You can do whatever you want," he said, "but I don't play games. I told you how I felt and I thought it was mutual. I can see I was mistaken. Just don't come crawling back to me when you see that you made the wrong choice. Sloppy seconds aren't my style." His eyes were full of pain but his voice was cold and distant. He turned his back on me before I could get a word in edgewise.

I felt like crying. I just wanted to keep my new friends. Was it a crime to want to have friends? Why does life have to be so hard? Why can't Will just understand that if Trista didn't like him, I would go out with him in a second? I went over to the water table, grabbed a cup, jammed it under the spout, and angrily filled it up to the top. I chugged the water down and felt the cool liquid quench my thirst. I crumpled the cup up and threw it away when I saw Scott heading toward me. I had to admit that he looked pretty good in a black wife beater and khaki shorts. His dark brown hair was gelled to perfection and his shirt showed off his perfectly tanned muscles. I saw more than a few girls' heads turn to watch him cross the field.

"Hey, Scott. What's up?"

"What was that all about with Will? He looked pissed. It didn't have anything to do with me taking you to the party tonight did it? I mean, I didn't want to cause any trouble. You guys didn't have anything going on between you two, did you? I just had to ask you out. You could say that I was compelled by your cuteness." He grinned and his eyes twinkled.

"No, the whole thing with Will was my fault. We didn't have anything going on." That's the truth. We didn't really, I tried to convince myself. Besides, Scott is a great catch. A lot of girls like him so why should Will be any better? I think I just want the one guy I can't have when there's a great guy right in front of my face. I'm just going to suck it up and forget about Will. I can just avoid him and then everything will be okay.

"Cool. Glad to hear it," Scott laughed. "So how's your sectional going? Mine's going pretty well. Will's working us really hard, though, to be the best, better than Marshall especially. We're going to learn about ten different cadences this year. Our drumline's going to kick butt."

"That's awesome. My sectional is going pretty well too. I'm the best piccolo player after Kayla so I'm going to get to help out. I can't wait for concert season though, when she goes back to playing bassoon. Then, I get to be section leader."

Scott chuckled. "You're not even in band camp for a day, and already you're planning for when you're going to be section leader. Well, I'm glad for you. Just don't let it go to your head." He poked me in the head.

"That hurt," I said, even though it really didn't. "You're going to pay for that Mr. Delvins." I lightly hit him on the shoulder.

"Oh I see how it is. You want to play around, huh? Well, old Scott here is not going to get beaten by a piccolo player." Scott grabbed me around the knees, picked me up, and hoisted me over his right shoulder. I pounded him on the back, yelling at him to put me down. He ran across the field, with me on his shoulder until I got dizzy. Then, he put me back down and I nearly collapsed. He put out his arm to steady me. "Woah, Katie, don't topple over. Can't break anything before marching season starts."
            "Thanks, but you better watch out; I'll get you back. Just remember that the scores not even," I said playfully. I glanced over to where my section had been practicing. They were starting to regroup. "Okay, well, I'll see you tonight because I have to get back to my section."

"Alright. Um, I guess I'll meet you by the fire. Okay?"

"That's fine. I'll see you then." He leaned his 6' 1" frame down and gave me a little hug. I ran off to join Kayla and my section. She was teaching the freshmen about the roll step when I got there. They were having problems with it. I remembered my freshmen year and how hard it was to get all the motions and commands down but after I had learned them, everything was a piece of cake. I'm sure these freshmen would master everything easily too.

The rest of the day went by in a flurry and at 7 o' clock, Kayla, Jen, Trista, and I were preparing for the party and induction of the freshmen to the band. I guessed it wasn't anything that fancy because they were all wearing jeans and khakis. I decided to wear jean shorts and a cute red halter top. I just threw my hair up into a long, messy ponytail, put on a little mascara and lipstick. We all walked past all the buildings on campus, through the woods, to a secluded area where a bonfire was burning brightly. Jen and Kayla ran off with Johnny and Adam, leaving Trista and I by ourselves. Everyone was talking and dancing to music that was coming from a boom box somewhere.

"This is going to be so cool," Trista said. "I wonder where Will is. I bet tonight is the night that we finally get hooked up. We got to talk after the bus ride for a little bit so I think we're becoming better friends. He's going to ask me out soon. I can just feel it." She looked so hopeful that I couldn't help but feel sorry for her because I knew that Will thought she was annoying and clingy. Yet, he probably didn't think too much of me right now either and I had managed to blow it within about one day. How could I get someone to go through so many different emotions for me in a day? It was crazy. I just needed to forget Will, but no matter how hard I tried, he kept popping back into my head. I just needed to make this thing with Scott work out and put extra effort into that and all thoughts of Will would be permanently erased from my head. I spotted Scott and told Trista that she could come with me if she wanted. She declined, saying that she was going to go find Will. I ran toward Scott and jumped on his back. He grabbed me around the legs to hold me up.

"Guess who," I said happily.

"Hmmm….is this a short beautiful blonde piccolo player by any chance? Oh wait, never mind. It's probably that hot brunette from my art class," he said.

"Nope, I'm definitely not taking art."

"Nah, I'm just playing with you. There's no girl as hot as you…Katie…"

"So you do remember my name…" I said.

"How could I forget? Your name will forever be burned in my memory and I don't think that you'd ever let me forget it anyway. Isn't that right?" he asked, turning his head as far back as he could to look at me.

"Yup. I'm going to stick in your memory like gum in hair," I said as I gave him a peck on his cheek. I jumped off his back, which was rather hard to jump onto in the first place, considering that there was over a foot in height difference. Scott grabbed my hand and started to swing it. He looked me up and down.

"Wow, you look amazing. I hope you weren't planning on seducing any other guys because, tonight, you're all mine," he said. I immediately thought of Will and then, just as quickly, suppressed the thought. Then, all the leadership people turned the music off, and stood on a makeshift platform.

"It's time to paint the freshmen!" Adam yelled. There was a roar of approval through out the band.

"All the freshmen need to line up in front of the platform in a single file and wait to be painted. We also have feathered hats and Hawaiian grass skirts for you to wear- girls and boys, alike," Johnny announced. I noticed that he was standing in between Adam and Emily while Kayla was standing off to the side. All the freshmen lined up reluctantly.

"Hey guys, I wouldn't grumble if I were you all," Emily said. "We all went through it and now it's your turn. Just think, after this, you're initiated into the band and one of us. And you have three years ahead of you to do this to other freshmen that come in."

Johnny, Adam, Will and some other senior guys grabbed the buckets of paint and brushes and placed them in front of the freshmen. "Alright, upperclassmen," Will said, "grab a brush and start painting a freshman!" I couldn't help but notice how hot he looked. He had changed from this afternoon into jean shorts, sandals, and a black Led Zeppelin shirt. He also wore a Penn State hat that had a bent brim. I knew I had to stop obsessing about him. This was ridiculous! I was getting as bad as Trista. I grabbed Scott's arm and pulled him to a can of bright neon orange paint. We grabbed two brushes and started painting a short, gangly freshman's face. He was taking it pretty well and joking with everyone.

"Don't forget to paint the pits, you guys!" he said. Scott lifted his arm up and painted one armpit bright orange and then the other. I was thoroughly grossed out.

"Hey, Will, man, come over here and grab a brush!" Scott called out to Will. I guess I had kind of forgotten that they were friends because it took me by surprise. I looked up and saw Will shoot a look at me. I probably looked like crap in the heat and brushed a sticky piece of hair out of my face. He looked torn between wanting to come over and wanting to run ten miles in the other direction.

"Aw, no thanks, Scott. There's a freshman over here that no body's touched and I want to make sure that every freshman gets painted."

"Okay, man," Scott said as Will turned his back on us. I felt kind of deflated. My adrenaline had raced at the thought of him joining us but when he rejected the offer, I felt let down. Scott and I finished with the poor, now completely orange, freshman. We looked at our creation and Scott plopped a feathered, chieftain-like hat on his head. Then he gave me a funny look. He looked as if he was planning something. I gave him an inquisitive look in return and before I could react, he grabbed a bucket of purple paint and dumped it on me.

"Scott Delvins! The paint's for the freshmen. You are so dead!" I said as I grabbed a bucket of hot pink paint and dumped it all over him. He gave me a mischievous grin and ran toward me. He enveloped me in a big bear hug, and when we broke apart, we were a mixture of gooey purple and pink. I was wrapped up in the moment and caught up in enjoying myself. It was the most fun I had had since band camp started.

"That was awesome," Scott said, echoing my exact thoughts. "Katie, you're a great girl. I haven't had this much fun with anyone. I mean I can just be my oddball self with you and we can have a great time. When we get back to 'the real world', do you want to go out sometime?"

I was caught off guard. Here we were having a great time, and then he throws something like this at me. I thought for a moment and then decided, Oh what the crap? Why not? It's just a date; it's not like he's asking me to be his girlfriend. "Sure, that sounds cool. And maybe we can do something other than getting all painted up."

"Yeah, I've heard of girls getting all painted up for a guy, but this is just ridiculous."

"Hey, Scott!" Matt James, from the bus ride, called. "Come here for a minute. I have to tell you something!"

Scott looked at me apologetically. "Hey, uh I have to go talk to Matt for a while. I'll be back okay?"

"That's fine. Trust me, I think I can handle a couple of minutes without you. I'm not going to spontaneously combust or anything." He laughed and then jogged over to Matt.

I wandered around watching people getting painted and everyone dancing to the latest pop song that had come out. I wished I had more friends because I knew that Jen and Kayla were off with their boyfriends somewhere and who knew where Trista could be. I was just mulling over this fact- that I had hardly any friends, when Will came up. I was completely surprised. The shock must have shown on my face because Will fumbled for an explanation.

"Um, I've been thinking a lot. Trust me, I've had plenty of time to think between this afternoon and right now. I was really harsh with you and I didn't mean to be. I'm really sorry. It was out of line. I was just extremely mad at the time, and I know that's no excuse but I just wanted everything between us to be okay."

I couldn't say anything so he continued.

"To be honest, and you don't know how much I hate saying this, I can't get you out of my head. It's like no matter what I do, you're always there. You hurt me really bad but—"

I finally found my voice. "I didn't mean to. I just….Scott asked me to come here with him, and well, nobody else had and I don't really have that many friends so I said 'yes'. I knew that Jen and Kayla would probably be off with Adam and Johnny and I'm sure Trista has other friends. I just didn't want anybody to have to worry about me tagging along," I said, which was partially true, even if it wasn't the main reason I had accepted Scott's offer.

"Katie, I'm your friend too, or at least I hope I am. You could've hung out with me. I mean, I can see your reasoning and I guess you didn't mean to hurt me."

"That's right. I really didn't and I'm truly sorry because you were the first person I met here and I wouldn't ever want to hurt you. If you want to know the honest truth, and this is really hard for me to say-" I took a big breath. "There are underlying reasons for why I can't ever be involved with you the way you want us to be. They have nothing to do with Scott either. I just, I just can't," I said helplessly and feeling rather pathetic.

Will's face brightened, slightly. "So, if these 'reasons' didn't exist, then you would go out with me?"

I hesitated. This was getting into dangerous territory. "Well, yes," I said.

"So there's a chance then. Katie, I'm going to try to get you to change your mind. Whatever these reasons are, they can't be that big. I really like you and if there's a chance, then I'm going to pursue it. I know that Scott likes you too and he's my friend but there's no way he can like you as much as I do. Katie, you're not going to get away. That happened to me once and I swore, then, that I'd never let it happen again. Scott will get over it. Just know that I'm going to romance you're socks off Miss Katie Thompson," Will said, his whole mood changed. He walked away, leaving me wondering once again, how our whole relationship could change so fast.

Scott came back and I said that I was too tired to party anymore, which was true. I told him that I was going to head back to the dorm and I could find my way back okay by myself. He gave me a hug and said he'd see me in the morning. I walked back to Stine Hall and collapsed on my bed. I didn't even get to change my clothes before I was snoring away.