"This is where you live?" Jaimie asked stopping the car.
"In a manner of speaking, yes." Aiden replied.
"So why are we here?" Allysson questioned. She straightened her nightgown around her ankles after she got out of the car.
"We have to distract Knat, get the drumsticks, go to the parade, and help the percussionists crash it." All looked in surprise at Jaimie, who was not exactly a brain surgeon. Aiden smiled.
"Well then. The parade is in five hours. The percussionists are already on the road to meet the rest of the band. Conrad is with them. Jaimie, you know what you must do. Don't come back until you hear the signal" Jaimie pursed her lips in complete distaste, but she nodded and walked off. "Okay. Nicole, you and I will keep watch. Allysson, take this key and go up the stairs until you see a big wooden door marked PERCUSSION SLAVES' DRUMSTICKS. It's in big red letters, you can't miss it. For a change, Allysson asked no questions. She accepted a key that was roughly the length of a cereal box's height, (I hope that makes sense) and went off to do her task.
"How did you get that?" Nicole asked. Aiden met her eyes.
"It's mine."
"Hi Knat, I haven't seen you in awhile." Knat whipped around, and smiled as he recognized Jaimie.
"What are you doing here? You're not in band." Jaimie grinned.
"I came just to see you." Inwardly, she was disgusted by how easily seduced he was. He abandoned his post without any hesitation when she suggested that they go somewhere more secluded to talk. He was like a moth drawn to light, the way she practically led him around.
It was almost too easy. Allysson was thinking as she put the drumsticks into a makeshift sack made by her huge, billowing nightgown. She'd barely even had to climb any stairs to get to the marked door. She was even a bit unhappy that none of her athletic skills had had to be put to use. Still, she was unwilling to linger there. Not wasting any time, she left the fortress and met back with Aiden and Nicole.
"Excellent work!" Aiden praised when Allysson triumphantly held out the many, multicolored sticks. Without further ado, Aiden cried a very loud, very high pitched battle cry. Nicole and Allysson winced and covered their ears. Less than a minute later, Jaimie came running.
"I knocked him out with a rock. Thank God you called when you did, he was trying to get to third base with me." They shuddered in unison.
"Well, we haven't got much time. We have a war to start here! Let's GO GO GO!" Aiden herded them all back into the car.
The percussionists were sullen. Koil was in pain. The marching uniform was rubbing against his burns. They all knew that it was now pretty much hopeless. Darnoc would prevail. They lined up in back of the band, and were given their special black sticks. Luke looked at his own pair with contempt, and attempted to break them on his knee. It didn't work. He was sick and tired of magic.
Conrad was in her element. She was practically wiggling in glee.
"FEET!" She screamed.
"Together!" The band replied with just enough gusto to keep her satisfied.
"STOMACH!"
"In!"
"SHOULDERS!"
"Back!"
"ARMS!"
"Forward!"
"CHIN!"
"Up!"
"EYES!"
"With Pride!"
"That was Crap!" Conrad bellowed. "I SAID EYES!" While her own were bugging out of her head.
"WITH PRIDE!"
"That was better! Mark Time! one, two, three, four!" And so it began. They marched, with doom in their hearts and regret in their minds. It was over.
It was impossible to get through all the traffic due to the parade. Even with the sexy car they were driving, so they had to chase the band on foot. Allysson ran ahead to tell her father to distract Conrad any way that he could. And Conrad was easily distracted. All Allysson's father had to do was tell Conrad what a wonderful band she had, and she was all off telling him how honored she was that she was their instructor and all that wonderful crap. The band marched on, all with glazed looks on their faces, unaware of anything but the beat the percussionists were providing. Jaimie and Nicole moved amongst the drummers, passing back drumsticks. It was a difficult task, as they still had to march while taking them back, and playing the street beat at the same time. By the time the band president, a skinny-as-hell girl with an ill favored look about her blew the whistle twice to signal the roll off, all of the percussionists were prepared. After the roll off, instead of playing America on Parade, as they were supposed to, played their beginning part to Hawaii 5-0. The back of the band heard them, and, brainwashed as they were, played their own instrumental parts without question or second thought. Quickly, the middle and front of the band caught on, and all of them played Hawaii 5-0, quickly going into a simplified version of Stars and Stripes Forever. All of them taking the lead of the percussionists, as it should always have been.
Of course, Conrad eventually noticed something was wrong. She tried to stop their playing, but they were so loud, nobody could hear her. All of the people on the sides of the road were applauding the band on top of it all. She even went so far as to step in front of the flutes to stop them marching, but they kept going. She had demanded that they run anybody in their way over after all, and all had been dying for such an opportunity for years now. Especially if it was Conrad. She gave up after awhile, and let them go to their stopping point. They played several new songs including Keeper of the Flame, and The Marines Hymn. Also, they ended up playing anything they had memorized. Their C scales, their pep rally snippets, Pomp and Circumstance. By the time they arrived at their stopping point, Conrad was getting very weak. Eventually, she sat on the ground, breathing deeply. The band had been ordered to stop by the President, and they were always forbidden to leave their positions before Conrad ordered it, so they stood in place silently, praying that she would give the word soon. Their uniforms were hot, and their black felt cowboy hats were slipping gradually down their foreheads. Nicole and Jaimie caught up again, and went to the band. Jaimie dismissed them, and they were so relieved that they didn't think anything of it as they left to change into their blessedly normal clothing. Nicole, for her part, was hungry. And when she was truly hungry she was truly pissy. In her eyes, it was all Conrad's fault that she was here. Which it pretty much was anyway. And an empty stomach did funny things to her judgment. She strode up to Conrad, and offered a hand to help her up, smiling sweetly.