After a week of going over specified marching band music, learning, or really I should say "attempting" to learn how to march, I along with my other fellow band and color guard members went to band camp.
We had all arrived at School on the Saturday with our backpacks, duffle bags, suitcases, our sleeping bags, our instruments, and about 6 ½ hours of sleep waiting to go to this "band camp" place. We mingled with people until Stierman, along with Fritz had gotten our attention:
"Hey!" Stierman called. "Hurry up and say good-bye to those who dropped you off, grab your things and get on the buses. We will be around momentarily to see if you have followed directions." He glanced his eyes toward the drum line and glared at them for a few odd moments as if to mentally remind them that he will keep and eye out for them.
I said good-bye to my parents, and climbed on a bus with my friends, Alysha, Margaret, Jessica, Erin, and about 20 other people. The bus ride there took not that long, only because we talked about everything from band, guys, band, band camp, music, jokes, band, boys, sex, school, and a lot of other nonsense. I would give you a part of our um "-interesting" conversation but might have my ass, so I have you guys fill in the blanks.
Finally, after about 45 looong minutes on a "cheese" bus, we arrived. I caught my first glance of it and I was awed. In front of all us was a huge camp. One side of it was open to the public, like for trailers and tents. The other side was for schools and only for schools. We all got out of the buses, grabbed our things, walked, and stumbled to the place we were supposed to go, the volleyball court. The color guard made quite a show carrying their things, complaining that it was too heavy and they should not have packed all of this stuff if they knew that they would have to carry it.
After all of us finally made it to the volleyball court, we sat down our things and waited until Stierman told us where our cabins were and who was going to bunk with us. I was paired up with Alysha, Erin, her mom, Margaret, Jessica, Amanda, Madeline, Andi, Kari, Heather, Bethany, Tiffany, Whitney, Gwendolyn, and Katie. It was a good group. As of when we found out, I knew the majority of them expect Katie; and Whitney and Gwendolyn were sisters. We had about an hour to get ready and unpack all of our things so we could be ready at 11:00 a.m. so we could do some more practice drilling before our lunch. It was somewhat boring getting everything ready, but you needed that precious hour; and believe me you did. Around 11, all of the band and color guard went to the huge field that was not a complete 100 yards, but it was close to. Stierman and Fritz were waiting for us there.
We talked among ourselves, until Stierman had gotten our attention:
"Ok group, I want you to get into a block form, but get into it by section, highest instruments in the front, drum line and color guard at the back." Stierman called to us.
We all got into our places extremely quickly for we did not want Stierman to yell at us. We were at relax, so we could talk and move around. Then James, our drum major blew his attention command and we all answered 1, 2!!! This meant that we were all at attention. Stierman grabbed his gockblock, and tapped it and told us what he wanted us to do. He told us to mark time for 16 counts, backwards march for 8, mark time for 8, forward march for 16 (8 to 5), and slide for 8. We all did it, somewhat and of course the color guard, lost count in the first count of the mark time. It was rather funny, until Stierman made up another one, because he felt sorry to the color guard girls. Chances are he had a thing for some of them, but we never found out the truth.
"Ok, well apparently some of you people seem to have forgotten how to march in a day. Well, we are going to fix this. We are gonna start out easy. Mark time for 8 counts, the do one 8 count set of 8 to 5 steps. Then repeat this until I stop. Ok?!" he exclaimed.
So we all marched for the about half of a football field, until he stopped us. Then we did a few more drills until finally, it was 11:55, and Stierman told us to head to lunch. I followed my fellow band members across the field, pass a sand volleyball court, pass the entrance to the camp, down the uneven pavement, and to a smallish looking shack where apparently is where we ate. We had to go in a huge line, by class of course, and we got our food and sat outside, for it was a picnic lunch. It was fun, expect when it was over, which was a half of an hour later. After lunch, we had an hour of FOYOB time until our sectionals. By the by FOYOB is a term that our band uses that means Feet On Your Own Bed, meaning that in our cabins, we couldn't walk around the grounds, or around the cabin, it was an hour to sleep, or talk while on your bunk and just chill out.
After our fabulous, yes I'm being sarcastic, hour of FOYOB, we moved to our sectionals practice for two hours. The flutes and the clarinets were together, the trumpets and the saxophones were together, all of the low brass, (sousaphones, trombones, and French horns) were all together, the drumline was all together too, but that was obvious. Anyhoo, the clarinets and flutes met in this huge barn shelter, it was open from all sides and it was a square shape. We didn't know where to go, nor did the upperclassman, but thankfully, Stierman was there to tell us where to go. Actually he was waiting for us, because he was our sectional leader for this day, Saturday. So, we all followed him to out of the barn, pass the pool, pass the swing sets and into a little shelter that looked like it was used to teach a nature class, this camp was used for sixth graders within our school district. So, we sat down on the uncomfortable wooden tables and waited for instructions. Stierman didn't exactly know what to do, because a)he was a brass player, b)he was a freshman much like the majority of the flutes and clarinets were, and c)he didn't know exactly what songs we needed help on, because we had just gotten to band camp that day.
"So," he began, "I really don't know what to do to help you guys, because we just here today. So does anybody have any suggestions of what songs we should play?"
"Um, I do, began Alysha timidity, "How about we play "Mucho Mojo," because there are some hard things in that song, I mean we don't have to, but it was just a suggestion, and now look I've gone babbling about absolutely nothing, in front of you and everyone else in this room…" She then shut her mouth and then turned a violent shade of red, for she was embarrassed.
"Well, since Alysha had such a brilliant suggestion about what song to play, lets play it." He then produced a gockblock and counted us off and we played. We got to the tenth measure before he stopped us. Oh Gwad, I thought, this was going to be a long 2 hours, is it two hours yet…?!
Finally, after what seemed like a year, this sectional was over. YES!! But anyways, we now had an two hour break to do whatever the hell we wanted to. We could swim, read, talk to our friends, pig out back at our cabins, or even just sit somewhere for two hours being really, REALLY bored. I really didn't know what to do, so I put back my clarinet in the barn and walked the stony "road" back to my home away from home; my cabin. Once I got there, I pulled out my folder that I had brought along with me and read a few stories about people whom I liked and seriously, thought why in the name of bob did I like my band director. Unfortunately, I didn't have enough time to think, because my cabin buddies came in which halted my train of thought at its station. Then they began to talk to me and complete randomness:
"Nicole?!"
"NICOLE?!" asked Alysha for the second time
"What!?" I called
"What are you doing here by yourself? Come on lets go down to the pool or just sit somewhere and talk or play a random card game."
"Sure. I'm coming, let me just put away these papers-"
"Ok, I'll wait for you outside!!" called Alysha while cutting me off
ok I thought to my self, Obviously this um, serious thinking isn't gonna work while out with Alysha and her extremely bubbly, perky personality. So, I guess I'm gonna have to visit this eh problem another time…
I then met Alysha outside our cabin together we walked in the warm and beautiful scenery that engulfed everybody at the camp. If it wasn't for the fact that I liked my band director for no obviously reason, band camp would have been perfect. Little did I know that it was gonna get a lot worse for me.
As we walked we talked about how high school was gonna be for us and what adventures that we might have to under go this Freshman year. I was only half-paying attention, because we had arrived at the courtyard where the majority of the band was on the swing sets, in the pool, waking aimlessly around, and sitting on the cluster of wooden chairs and benches that was over in the far left of the courtyard. Then I saw something that kinda made me realize something. I saw Stierman with this girl, who appeared to be around his age, 24. I derived a conclusion and thought:
FUCK!! The guy is fuckin' married!!! (Which by the by he was married to her and later I would find out that they were having a girl in March) AGH!! Why do I always have to go for the married men who happen to be so damn attractive? I hate myself I really, REALLY do. Ok. I can get myself through this, I did last year without having to do anything extremely stupid ok scratch that without having to do anything that lacks near-human intelligence. There, that's better, I guess. Well now what do I do?
The problem was, I didn't know what I was gonna do. Last year, I had almost thought about suicide but I wasn't about ready to think about that before I was in high school and before I graduated and got married and had a child….
"Apparently I'm fuckin' useless!!!" I screamed and everybody looked at me
-End
Disclaimer-I don't own anything expect my clarinet and my sanity!! So don't sue!!
p.s. thanks to all of those who commented on my story ::huggles:: It makes me happy!!
once again thanks and I'll see you next chapter!
Nicole