Slowly the others all relaxed and with sighs sank back down into
their seats. Wearily the green-haired boy said to Neal; "Firefly. You
have to stop letting him provoke you!" shaking his head he turned and
looked at me, "I don't believe that we've been properly introduced yet.
I'm a tuba player, you can call me Moss, everybody does."
"Umm... my name's Lynn, and umm... Tenor Sax..." I trailed off. "But what just happened here, who was that, and who are all of you?" I wanted to know.
Shaking his head the one I had heard called Skink responded. "That was Skib, or 'Ian' to use his true name. He's what we call a Squealer. There are several Squealer's in the band, but he's the only one who reports directly to Kelter." Seeing my confusion he hurried on, "a Squealer is someone who reports unsatisfaction, unhappiness, and possible mutinies to the Drum Majors, Section Leaders, or even the Band Director. Normally, being a Squealer is a pretty respected position, but Skib on the other hand makes it anything but. He uses his new-found power for his own advantage, and not for the greater good of the band. The thing is, he plays to trumpet, as do Firefly and I, but Firefly here is the trumpet section leader. Since Skib reports directly to Kelter, Neal here has absolutely no control over hi. To make matters worse Skib flaunts it in Neal's face every chance he gets, and deliberately disobeys everything that Neal tells him to do." he said with a glance toward Neal, who was still staring angrily at the floor.
"Now for your other question. I'm Skink, sometimes called Tim, and like I said, I'm a trumpet player. My friend here in the green'" Skink continued, nodding his head towards the boy with green hair who had so recently helped Wren restrain Neal from hitting the boy she now knew as 'Skib.' The green-haired boy hit him over the head. "He's a tuba player, unfortunately. Hey!" he shouted as he got hit over the head again, hard. "Anyways, like i was saying, before i was so rudely and violently interrupted, his name is Briar, but call him Moss like he said to, 'cause just about everyone does. Neal-" he said, nodding to the one who was still glaring at his shoes.
"Well, like you know - he's called Firefly, and is the section leader for the trumpets. You already know your cousin Marie, or at least i hope you do." He finished finally, out of breath.
"Okay, now you know all about us, so why don't you tell us about yourself." This came from the green haired... – no, it came from Moss. The others all nodded in agreement as Wren leaned back in her seat and smirked, she knew how much I hated to be put on the spot.
"Ummm... there's really not much to tell, but okay. My name is Lynn Kathleen Katherbee, and I'm going to be a junior this year. I just moved here from San Francisco, so I still don't know many people besides Wren here. Ummm... I'm seventeen years old, and I've played the Tenor Sax for twelve of those seventeen years, and never once regretted it, well, maybe once. Umm, let's see...oh. I have a cat, two dogs, and three hamsters, no to mention a large amount of fish, and I'm allergic to mushrooms, and yeah... that's about it." I finished nervously, unsure as to whether I'd said too much or too little, and really regretting that mushroom comment.
I looked around at them, trying to figure out what they were thinking. There was silence for about five minutes. Then Neal looked up for the first time, and said, "You have dogs? What kind?" and broke the uncomfortable silence.
"Um, a female Mastiff named Frankie, and a German Shepard Mastiff mix named Sarge. They won't arrive from San Francisco 'till next week though. They were too big for the plane, so my dad's driving them up." I stammered out, surprised that he had picked out that of all the things that I had said.
He just nodded, "That's cool."
Dead silence followed this simple statement, and then Wren giggled. Suddenly they were all laughing. Skink even fell off of his bench and landed hard upon the sticky floor.
a/n- yuck! The bus floor!
"Umm... my name's Lynn, and umm... Tenor Sax..." I trailed off. "But what just happened here, who was that, and who are all of you?" I wanted to know.
Shaking his head the one I had heard called Skink responded. "That was Skib, or 'Ian' to use his true name. He's what we call a Squealer. There are several Squealer's in the band, but he's the only one who reports directly to Kelter." Seeing my confusion he hurried on, "a Squealer is someone who reports unsatisfaction, unhappiness, and possible mutinies to the Drum Majors, Section Leaders, or even the Band Director. Normally, being a Squealer is a pretty respected position, but Skib on the other hand makes it anything but. He uses his new-found power for his own advantage, and not for the greater good of the band. The thing is, he plays to trumpet, as do Firefly and I, but Firefly here is the trumpet section leader. Since Skib reports directly to Kelter, Neal here has absolutely no control over hi. To make matters worse Skib flaunts it in Neal's face every chance he gets, and deliberately disobeys everything that Neal tells him to do." he said with a glance toward Neal, who was still staring angrily at the floor.
"Now for your other question. I'm Skink, sometimes called Tim, and like I said, I'm a trumpet player. My friend here in the green'" Skink continued, nodding his head towards the boy with green hair who had so recently helped Wren restrain Neal from hitting the boy she now knew as 'Skib.' The green-haired boy hit him over the head. "He's a tuba player, unfortunately. Hey!" he shouted as he got hit over the head again, hard. "Anyways, like i was saying, before i was so rudely and violently interrupted, his name is Briar, but call him Moss like he said to, 'cause just about everyone does. Neal-" he said, nodding to the one who was still glaring at his shoes.
"Well, like you know - he's called Firefly, and is the section leader for the trumpets. You already know your cousin Marie, or at least i hope you do." He finished finally, out of breath.
"Okay, now you know all about us, so why don't you tell us about yourself." This came from the green haired... – no, it came from Moss. The others all nodded in agreement as Wren leaned back in her seat and smirked, she knew how much I hated to be put on the spot.
"Ummm... there's really not much to tell, but okay. My name is Lynn Kathleen Katherbee, and I'm going to be a junior this year. I just moved here from San Francisco, so I still don't know many people besides Wren here. Ummm... I'm seventeen years old, and I've played the Tenor Sax for twelve of those seventeen years, and never once regretted it, well, maybe once. Umm, let's see...oh. I have a cat, two dogs, and three hamsters, no to mention a large amount of fish, and I'm allergic to mushrooms, and yeah... that's about it." I finished nervously, unsure as to whether I'd said too much or too little, and really regretting that mushroom comment.
I looked around at them, trying to figure out what they were thinking. There was silence for about five minutes. Then Neal looked up for the first time, and said, "You have dogs? What kind?" and broke the uncomfortable silence.
"Um, a female Mastiff named Frankie, and a German Shepard Mastiff mix named Sarge. They won't arrive from San Francisco 'till next week though. They were too big for the plane, so my dad's driving them up." I stammered out, surprised that he had picked out that of all the things that I had said.
He just nodded, "That's cool."
Dead silence followed this simple statement, and then Wren giggled. Suddenly they were all laughing. Skink even fell off of his bench and landed hard upon the sticky floor.
a/n- yuck! The bus floor!
