Chapter Nine is here! Yippie! Here we are! Please let me know what you think!
Chapter Nine: The Field show
The field show came too fast for Arianna, Elissa, and Allie. All that week leading up to Friday night, Arianna wasn't the only one who noticed a change in Mr. Berringer. After the initial shock wore off when he announced there would be no more practices, the students took over the band. Nothing was done and, after the first two days of failed practices, the director let them watch movies the rest of the week.
Elissa would go to choir instead of sitting in the band room with a movie, thinking what a waste it was. Allie wasn't thrilled she didn't have to leave class for practice, but dealt with sitting through an entire block rather well. Arianna would sit in Mr. Berringer's office, sometimes reading, sometimes just sitting there. The lamp was turned on, a little table lamp that gave off enough light so Arianna wasn't sitting in absolute darkness. Sometimes Mr. Berringer would come and give her a task, like organizing scores or cleaning out the desk. Mostly, though, Arianna was by herself, which gave her time to think.
It was impossible for her to feel anything for Mr. Berringer. He was in his 20's and she wasn't even 16. That was sick. That was wrong. She couldn't love him because it would be impossible for him to love her back. Arianna supposed she was only feeling sorry for Mr. Berringer. That must be it, she told herself. She felt bad for him and wanted to fix everything. But, that wasn't logical. If she pities him, she would feel the way she did when he smiled at her.
The night of the field show was chilly, like any fall evening. Arianna took a glance at her cellphone, seeing that she was already ten minutes late for practice before the performance. Arianna nearly tripped over he uniform bag in her rush through the school on her way down to the band room. If she would have paid more attention, she would have realized there was no other sound than her footsteps and a lone trumpet. She arrived at the front door of the band room, dropping her bag in the music annex, checking her phone with the clock in the annex, taking a double glance at both. Her phone was almost an hour off.
Arianna shook her head. Now she was early and had nothing to do until everyone else came to practice. Arianna then noticed the sound of a trumpet coming from the band room, lights showing underneath the door. Was it Peter, maybe, having made Arianna's same mistake? Carefully, Arianna opened the door and stepped inside. Mr. Berringer was sitting in the chair she always sat in for band practice, playing a song from a pile of sheet music on the stand in front of him. Arianna stood there, watching him play, until the door clicked shut behind her, startling both people in the room. Looking up, Mr. Berringer smiled.
"Hey, Arianna," he said, clearing the spit valve and putting some of the music under the chair, moving onto the next song in the pile.
"Hello, Mr. Berringer," Arianna said, unsure if she should leave or stay. He waved her over, however, before she could put much thought into the dilemma. Arianna walked down the few steps to where he sat and took the vacant chair next to him, clasping her hands in her lap. She listened to him play, every note resounding in her heart.
It was the beauty of the music that made her heart weep.
He stopped playing after the first band member arrived, cutting off the note and gathering his sheet music. Arianna was jolted back to reality as Elissa pounced on her. Mr. Berringer smiled a little and stood up, making sure he remembered the music under the chair. Ariana noticed how close he held his trumpet, his hands firmly clasping it to his chest. She watched him leave the band room, still hearing the song he had been playing in her mind.
"What have you been doing, Ari? Arrive early to have him play for you?"
"No, I accidentally came early and he let me listen to him practice."
"Sure, sure, whatever. Hey, can you help me get my flag from the back room?"
"You're a big girl now, Elissa. You can get it yourself."
Time flew by on the field. Arianna watched Elissa and Allie catch their flags perfectly, not a single pole hitting the ground. Arianna made it to every on of her positions in the numerous sets and found it difficult to keep the smile off her face as the spectators in the stands clapped and took pictures. The majorette had gotten rid of her gum and, as she bowed, Arianna felt more than a twinge of jealousy. She was up there, her marching skirt on, her jacket luminescent in the field lights, her sequined bridal frame glittering. The whistle around her neck shone and Arianna's heart dropped as she saw Mr. Berringer smiling at the majorette.
No matter how proud she was of the band and the performance, Arianna knew she was not going to be happy until she was wearing the whistle. Slowly, the band marched off the field at the majorette's command.
Poor Ari. Poor Elissa for having to put up with Ari. Poor Allie for having to sit through class... Ha! I talk about "the heart" a lot when I write. I think it's a bit over-used, but I like it. Musicians feel everything so much more than others, I believe (although it might not be true), and "the heart" is allowed to laugh and cry. I think when I say "the heart," I mean "the soul." Who knows? (That was a little glimpse into the author's mind...) (whether wanted or not!). Please read and review and let me know what you think! Thanks and I'll update soon! I might even start on the Junior year of For the Love of Music "series."