Beware! This one is a long chapter. I can't really cut it up, but maybe it is a long chapter for a good thing... I don't know what that thing is, though. I am a bit tired, so I am babbling... I'll stop now and let you read... Only if you want to, that is... ha...

Chapter Nine: The End of the School Year, the Beginning of Hope...

"What a waste."

"You've said that many times before, Ari."

"I know..."

Arianna and Elissa were outside the band room, Arianna pounding a fist on the glass of the trophy case. Elissa, absentmindedly picking at a hole in the carpet next to where she sat, vaguely remembered the many times Arianna had grimaced while passing the case. She agreed, though: the case looked awful. Second and third place trophies were toppled over and in poor condition. The marching band had not won a first place in years... Elissa remembered someone saying it was eleven years since the last first place trophy was won.

"What a waste."

"Ari, you just said that..."

"I know."

Arianna pounded the glass with her fist, leaning her head to it in frustration.

"Don't break the glass, Ari."

"When is Marah coming?"

"In a few minutes, maybe. We were here a little early."

It was the first evening practice for the year's marching band. School had not even let out for the year. They still had a week to go. The positions had been chosen by Mr. Marah. For the first time in years, there was to be an assistant majorette. Arianna was in the running, like she had always hoped...

Or, rather, had been in the running.

Arianna, fed up with Mr. Marah, had quit band the last fourth of the year. Her health ruined due to stress, the doctor bills piled up until Arianna had a choice: quit music for a little while, or end up in the hospital. Arianna had left the band.

Quitting, although she had been one of the strongest performers, had provoked Mr. Marah into taking her off any awards she might have gotten, although other members of the band who were not as talented and had not been in band longer than Ari had to stay away received awards at the last concert.

Arianna didn't care about the awards, though. She cared about one thing: majorette. And once Marah found out, he called her into his office. He told her that there was going to be an assistant majorette and that only dedicated members of the band were eligible. And she was not dedicated in his eyes, although she still performed with the musical and helped with the concert and went to the band events the regular members had gone to during the few short weeks Arianna was ordered to quit band. Oh, the joy in his eyes when he had seen he struck a blow to this hard-headed girl, this person who had called him on his mistakes when he had hoped no one was looking. To make sure Arianna wouldn't quit summer band for good, he told the other area directors about her and they voided her applications to the city bands because of an ankle injury that still haunted her to that day. After keeping her chained to the band, knowing she loved it too much to leave marching band entirely, Marah was sure Arianna would break.

Elissa, recalling all of this, touched her colorguard pole that lay by her side. She thanked goodness that she was not part of the band proper this particular year.

"It should have been me."

"I know, Ari... I know."

Arianna snarled softly to herself, eyes reflected in the glass in front of her. Elissa sighed in exasperation. Arianna's eyes darted to the reflection of Elissa behind her, and Elissa turned her head. She didn't want to have a fight.

"Good evening, Elissa."

Mr. Marah's voice drifted toward her ears and she turned to see him stride down the steps, whistle in hand. Arianna, noticing he was ignoring her, stiffened as he walked past her and unlocked his office, swinging the whistle from side to side, mocking Arianna.

"Hello, Mr. Marah," Elissa answered, a sinking feeling in her stomach.

"You know, I think I just have to get over it."

"Arianna, you're having a breakthrough!"

Elissa and Arianna sat on the steps leading to the band room, instrument cases, music, and colorguard equipment everywhere. It had been a grueling week of practice. For five hours every night, the band had marched down the streets of town, trying to learn the routine Mr. Marah had made for this summer.

Elissa was surprised by her friend's statement. There had been an incident earlier in the week and Mr. Marah had to speak with Arianna directly. The accident was that a jealous flute player picked a fight with Arianna after Arianna had been given the spot in the band she wanted. According to this girl, Arianna was doing something wrong and, when the girl told her she was, Arianna swore at her. Mr. Marah was approached by the group of friends this girl belonged to, telling him how Arianna had been marching wrong, throwing everyone else off, and that Arianna had not swore just once, but three or four times.

As the story grew and became tangled with what the girls were saying, Arianna could have gotten into more trouble. Marah had been benevolent. For as much as he didn't like Arianna, the story the girls were feeding him was just too unbelievable. Arianna would never swear at her section and she had been marching for years before this while the girls had never marched before. Marah had not been kind while talking to Arianna, however, and the girls, although disappointed Arianna was not reassigned to another spot, were nearly cackling with glee as Marah reprimanded Arianna.

This had left her in tears, but Arianna knew that she had to deal with Mr. Marah. She had been so cruel to him after he had tried to approach her. But he had done so much to hurt her, too! Everything from insulting her leadership skills before a concert in front of the entire band to ignoring her when she had a question.

"Arianna, you must be joking. Wait, we're talking about Marah here, right?"

Arianna nodded and Elissa's eyes grew wide.

"So, let me get this straight. You are going to forget all the things he said and done to you? All the stuff he could have gotten in trouble for? You are going to forgive him?"

"I have to, Elissa!" Arianna was shocked at how loud she had shouted, her voice echoing in the building. "Even though he's insulted me, ignored me, used me, and then picked someone else as majorette, I have to push all of that away. I won't forget or forgive, but I have to push all that to the back now. I have to be nice from now on..."

"But, Arianna, there is no way that you can get majorette this summer anymore-"

"It's not about the majorette position any longer. That is over with for this year. I lost, okay? Even I can admit that. The fact is, Mr. Marah is here to stay. He's been here longer than the last two directors have been and he cares about the band. Just because we don't like one another doesn't mean he doesn't care about the band. If he didn't want me here, he would have let me leave this band. But, you heard the conversations yourself! He ruined my chances of joining any other band..."

Elissa was shocked by the change that came over Arianna and wondered if she was telling the truth. Arianna could be cunning when she wanted to, but it didn't seem she was strong enough to be cunning at the moment. Still weak from her health scare and the week of hours upon hours of marching, Arianna was shaking slightly, her hands twitching. Arianna's voice grew soft as she saw the doubt in Elissa's face.

"Deep down, I care, too. I don't want to admit it to anyone but you, but I care. I don't want him to leave like Mr. Barringer did. I hate having a director that hates me, but I would hate it more if he left. If the band loves him, and he hates me, I would rather have the band be happy. That's what it's about, right? Its the band, not the individual, that matters."

"How can you say that? Of course the individual matters!"

"No, Elissa. There is no ' I ' in ' band.' Anyway, I need to get along with him. If he is going to stay, I have to be nice if I have any chance of majorette next year, too. Maybe next year is my year? I probably deserved being snapped at, for how awful I have been since Mr. Barringer left."

"Arianna, he made you cry! Do you remember that day he pulled you into the back room and made you burst into tears? Remember how you had to beg me not to tell the school board about his verbal abuse? That was abuse, Ari, and you knew it, but you didn't want him to get in trouble!"

Arianna clapped a hand over Elissa's mouth.

"Don't remind me of that. That was one of my worst memories of this year, being so weak that I could cry in front of him. My tears did nothing but embarrass me and show me how weak I really was."

The two sat in silence. Arianna took her hand off Elissa's mouth and Elissa gave a sigh before she spoke.

"I suppose you're right. You need to be nice to him and just pray that he'll be nice to you. If he is going to stay for next year, that is the only thing you really can do."

There you go... I love reviews! Thanks!