On the Phone

"Hello?"

"Chelsea!"

"Cheryl!"

"Chelsea!"

"Hi."

"Hey." I let out a laugh. "What's up?"

She gasped. "You would not believe what happened! Wait a minute…aren't you supposed to be at band camp?"

"I am at band camp."

"Away at band camp, I mean," she said pointedly.

"There is no away at band camp. It's just at the school."

"Then why's it called band camp?"

"I don't know. Maybe 'cause it is camp just without the sleeping part."

"It's not camp without the sleeping part."

"Then what do you suggest they call it?"

"I don't know…band…something not camp-ish."

I paused to let the absurdity fester. "I'll pass that along…"

"Well, aren't you supposed to be there anyway? You said it was nine to nine."

"Yeah, nine in the morning to nine at night at the school, we're home before and after, and they feed us lunch, which is just fast food, so I don't see why we can't just not pay for that part and bring our own. We get a dinner break, though. Two hours. Just long enough to eat, not long enough to take a decent nap."

I heard Chelsea snicker on the other end. "I'm serious! Anyway, it was weird today…"

"Is it fun?"

I gave the concept a thought. "I don't know…I thought it would be, and I'm excited, but at the same time…I don't know what I'm trying to say."

"Well, Kayla said it was harder than she thought it would be."

"Oh, no! I totally didn't see Kayla today! I forgot… When did you talk to her?"

"She called to see if I wanted to have dinner with her and her parents in town."

"Why aren't you there then?"

Chelsea sighed with exasperation. "Because there's no one here to take me, and Kayla's parents said it was too far to come out here, go all the way back to town, and then come all the way back here to drop me off. And then go all the way back to drop Kayla off…and then go all the way home… Cheryl, are you even listening?"

"Yeah," I replied distractedly.

"I was hoping you'd stop me, you know."

"I was calculating the time it'd take them to do all that. And the mileage. My mom complains more about the mileage than the length of the trip when it comes to going to your house. Or maybe it's the gas, but then again I don't know how much gas is, so I can't do that…"

"Just give it a rest, would you?"

"Didn't you work today? Couldn't they pick you up from there?"

"I didn't work today, hence how we're able to have this conversation."

"Oh."

Chelsea sighed again, only this time with longing. "Though dinner would have been great, since there's nothing to eat here. I hate living eight miles out of town…"

"Hey, what was it that happened today?"

"When?"

"You said I wouldn't believe something. When you answered?" I reminded her.

"Oh! Duh…guess what?"

"You…found wild carrots growing in a mysterious garden back in your woods."

"Uh…no."

"You…found a patch of carpet in your room and roped off the area as an exhibit."

"Nope. Ooh, though I do have four less boxes in there."

"What does that make? Two more layers to go?"

"Very funny." She paused to take a deep, dramatic breath. "We're getting a new…puppy!"

I squealed excitedly. "No way!"

"I know! I said the same thing. Dad said Storm was getting lonely…I think he just wants to have two dogs."

"When are you getting it?"

"We don't know yet. Mom said they just decided they'd get one, not that they've found one. But it's going to be a girl, that's been decided for a while, if we were to get another puppy."

"Puppy, puppy, puppy…" I sang out.

"You're so weird."

"I wish I could have a puppy…I have to make do with a goldfish."

"Well…there's always…turtles."

Again with the absurdity. "And that's closer to a dog how?"

"I don't know…it was something small, without fur, and…semi-easy to find."

"Forget it," I sighed. Chelsea returned the sigh. "Hey, why didn't Kayla call me? I eat dinner too.

"She did call you. She said you weren't home yet."

"Why didn't she just ask me in the band room? Well, I guess she didn't have to go to the band room, being a flute an all. She could've just taken it with her. Oh, you wouldn't believe—they told the trumpets to stay after they released us all for who knows what and then no one was even there, in the band room that is. How prank-ish is that?"

"They told you to meet in the band room and then never showed?"

"Yeah, they said…he announced it…" I let out a gasp.

"What?"

"Oh, no."

"What?"

I put my hand to my forehead and groaned. "He never said where to stay after at…stupid, stupid, stupid…"

"So…it wasn't a prank?"

"I don't know…maybe. Actually I hope it is."

"Why?"

"Because then I'd be above them for not falling for the prank…but if they just meant staying on the field…"

"It can't be that bad, can it?"

"Yes it can!" I practically shrieked. "I've been avoiding this kind of problem all day! I showed up early, I kept my feet off my case while playing in the band room, I kept my mouth shut all day when I could have—"

"Whoa, stop! Stop! You've got to calm down!"

"Sorry." I returned my hand to my forehead, from which it strayed during my rant so it could be flung about in wild gestures.

"I think you might be making too much of it. So you missed a section meeting. If it was related to the class at all don't you think it would have discussed during official trumpet time or whatever instead of during a break?"

"I guess…"

"You'll just hear it later is all."

"But they're older! And the field conductor called it out! And…they're older! I wasn't supposed to mess up today…"

"Why don't you go back early then? Make up for it a little?"

"I planned on being early anyway. I should go now since it's almost five thirty. I'll have a good fifteen minutes to fret over it at least."

"Cut it down to ten and get there early."

"Yeah. Hey, is today your only day off?"

"Today and tomorrow; I work the rest of the week. Why?"

I shrugged. "I thought you might be able to come over."

"I don't know. What about camp?"

"It's not camp," I said again.

I heard her sigh quietly. "Well, what about your nine to nine band appointment?"

"We get a dinner break, remember? And after that it's only two hours of marching…wait, no, today was our only two hour break. I forgot, the rest of the week is only an hour and a half. I guess you can just call instead."

"Mom might be getting out of work early tomorrow, and we were thinking of puppy scouting. I should be able to call you at this same time, but I'm not positive, and I don't know about after nine."

"It's okay; I just though I'd check about coming over."

"If you see Kayla tell her to call me back, because she said she was formulating a plan, and I can't bring up any more last minute plans after what happened last time."

"Okay. I'd laugh except we're cutting into my fretting time…" My mind returned to the earlier predicament.

"Don't worry."

"See you later."

"Bye!"