I know that this chapter might seem familiar to those of you who have read the Sophomore year of For the Love of Music, but it's supposed to be. It's not the exact same, but I wanted to make it like, if you are reading the Sophomore year of For the Love of Music, it's almost like a flashback to that chapter between Marah and Arianna. (And the princess of the band thing was not my idea, it was Elissa's...) Here we go!
Chapter Ten: Darkness Had Fallen...
After the initial rush of band students, the only things left in the band room were the scents of shoe leather and salt, and Arianna. It was late already, but the homecoming game had not ended; everyone had rushed out to see how the game would end an to cheer on their boyfriends or family members. It helped that no one had enjoyed marching in the halftime show in the rush to clear the band room.
Arianna wasn't interested in the game. Elissa and Allie had agreed to meet her by the press box, right by the stand where the student council was selling hot drinks and candy. She was in no rush to go back outside and liked the band room, as twisted as that sounded. She breathed deep, inhaling the smell of uniforms. The band uniforms themselves smelled like tar and dirt and diesel fumes, but Arianna didn't think it was a bad smell at all and took another breath, shutting her eyes.
"I thought I was the only person who liked the smell of hard work."
Arianna jumped as Mr. Berringer entered the band room. He went around the room, straightening the percussion equipment, setting the music stands upright, picking up spare bits of uniform that people had forgotten. Arianna, startled, nodded and helped clean up the room. She could hear Mr. Berringer start to hum. It was the love song from a musical, his voice carrying across the room. He had such a unique voice and Arianna felt frozen as she heard it. She wasn't really paying attention to what she was picking up until she noticed something glittering in her hand.
It was the majorette's bridal frame.
The purple sequins shone under the florescent lights of the band room, the white tulle poof on the back slightly crunched. The majorette had apparently dropped it and either didn't know she had lost it, or didn't care. Arianna could see herself in the reflection of the sequins, pale and worried. She wasn't holding a brow band, she was holding a crown. This was the crown of the princess of the band, something to be worn with honor, something that deserved more than being carelessly tossed on the floor. She wrapped her fingers around it and said to herself, "When I am majorette..."
That was her motto, her creed, what she lived by. "When I am majorette..." was what pushed her. That was her biggest ambition. All she needed to do was work harder and show her dedication. She would never quit band, she would never shirk from responsibility, she would never lose first chair. Never.
"What did you find? Is that Becky's bridal frame?" Mr Berringer walked up to Arianna, looking over her shoulder. Arianna hesitantly gave it to Mr. Berringer, feeling the sequins under her fingers, touching it for the last time until it was hers. Mr. Berringer put it on the storage cabinet in the front of the room, placing it on top of the pile of abandoned items.
"Let's go, Arianna."
Arianna walked up to the front of the room, standing at Mr. Berringer's side as his hand reached toward the light switches.
Flick. Out went the percussion lights.
Flick. Out went the brass lights.
One by one, they were all turned off until only the director's light remained, shedding a feeble light on the podium until Mr. Berringer turned off that one last light.
Darkness had fallen over the band room.
"Goodnight, Mr. Berringer."
"Goodnight, Arianna."
Sad... Well, Arianna has to realize that it's going to take her a bit longer to get majorette, if she ever does! Let me know what you think! Please review! It helps me so much when I write the chapters to hear what people have to say! Thanks for reading and I'll update soon!