6:45
Park View High School's Band Room's Office
Mark Blake opened the door to his office and breathed in the aroma. "Man, I missed that smell," he said to himself. "What else could be better then pencils, cork grease, valve oil, stale spit, and the normal odors that go along with high school students?"
He sat at his desk and leaned back in the chair, checking the Circle of Fifths clock that hung on the wall next to the various Drumline drumheads. "They should be arriving soon," he smiled. "I give them…20 minutes."
7:04:57
Park View's High School's Band Parking Lot
"Out! Now!" Ryan ordered his siblings, trying to throw Erik out the back. "I was supposed to be here five minutes ago, but thanks to you guys, I'm late!"
He glared at them before turning to Annie. "Get them all out and just…go hang around somewhere. Just don't be late for the 7:30 practice." He sprinted off into the building, leaving four amused looking people.
"Why do we put up with him?" Isaac asked, standing next to his sister.
"Because it's so funny to watch him when he's riled up like that," Jake answered.
"Oh yeah. That's why."
6:18
PVHS's Band RoomRyan peeked out of the office, noting the various people semi assembled in the room.
"I think they're here," he informed Blake as he pulled his head back into the room.
"Are you ready to start?" Blake asked the teen. "This is your first day as Drum Major. These section leaders will look to you to help lead the younger students. You are responsible for everybody in band. Are you up to this?"
Ryan merely blinked. "Do you want me to bolt out the open door while I still can?"
Blake just laughed. "You'll be fine. Now, scoot!"
Ryan glared. He had gotten very good at that that morning. Opening the door, he tried to enter the band room as discreetly as he could, but of course that didn't work. It wouldn't have been any fun if it had.
"Ryan!" Everybody in the room sang out.
"Hi," he waved sheepishly before lowering his voice. "Blake is watching my every move right now, so could you all pretend to be utterly focused while I give what seems to be a very exciting and highly motivating pre-band pep talk?"
The various section leaders laughed and assembled on the ground around the podium. Amy Tiel and Max Pahl were the closest to Ryan, sitting on the ground and looking up at him eagerly.
Ryan saw this and laughed. "Howdy, guys! But, focusing here…Speech. Um…pep talk? Pep…pep…. pep?" He looked up at the group of people hopefully. "Ok, maybe not. Ok, being serious. Guys, you have all been in band for all of high school, whether that be the three years for most of you, or the two years for you juniors. You know band. You know what it takes, and you know what to expect during the season. The new freshmen don't. They know nothing. Unless they are lucky enough to be siblings of some of you guys, they know squat. So it's up to you guys to teach them everything. Sure, they'll need to know about marching and all the actual marching band stuff, but you have to teach them everything else. Like, tell them what fun they'll have here. Answer all their questions about high school. Be their friends. Be their teachers. Be their masters; whip them into shape if they get out hand. It's all up to you guys."
He bowed, hopping off the podium. "And that's my speech. Woo. Got that over with. So, who's ready for the last 10 minutes free of annoying little freshmen?"
A round of cheers came up from the section leaders, and Ryan beamed.
6:32
PVHS's Band RoomRyan, his siblings, Amy, Max and Kristy leaned against the wall near the office. People were swarming the band room. The upperclassmen that had been in band before were trying to avoid actually entering the room, knowing that once you entered you could never leave, and the freshmen were doing a bunch of crazy things.
Those that had friends in band were all bunched into bad looking circles, catching up on the latest news in each other's lives. Those that knew nobody were standing in corners and next to walls, trying to avoid looking at people.
Ryan poked Jake, and Max poked Kristy.
"You have to go out there soon," Ryan told his brother.
"Better make it sooner then later," Max informed Kristy.
Jake and Kristy looked at each other, and out at the mess of freshmen.
"Ready?" he asked Kristy.
"As ready as I'll ever be," she replied.
"Wish us luck!" Jake told his siblings and Max. "We're going in."
"Good luck!" the foresaid chorused.
Jake and Kristy took one last look at their respected siblings before stepping away from the wall and immediately getting swarmed into the mob.
"Our little Jakey-wakey," Isaac said sadly.
"All grown up and at his first day of band camp," Erik continued.
"Hold me, dear brother, for I think I feel a tear coming on," Isaac said dramatically. Erik obediently stepped into his twin's outstretched arms, giving a fake sob as he did so.
Annie looked at Ryan, to Isaac, back to Ryan, over to Erik, to herself and nodded. Ryan nodded back. Putting a hand near Isaac's back and waiting for Ryan to do the same to Erik, she quietly counted up.
On three, the two older teens pushed the twins into the crowd. Erik and Isaac had time only for a small moan before getting swallowed up. They tried to fight their way back through the mess of people, but within seconds the people left on the wall couldn't see them anymore.
"That was harsh," Amy told them with a chuckle.
"It was the tweebs," Ryan reminded her.
Amy nodded. "Good point."
7:35
The Wall Closest to the PVHS's Band Room's Office
"Do you think I should start now?" Ryan asked the people standing around him. "I was supposed to have started five minutes ago."
"Yeah," Max agreed. "Best to get it over with."
"Good luck!" Amy and Annie told him. "You'll need it."
Ryan glared at them before hopping off the wall. "Move aside, move aside," he told the little freshmen milling about. "Drum Major coming through. Move, move. Yes, that means you. Out of my way, coming through, move it…"
A few minutes later, Ryan finally reached the podium on the other side of the room. With a final look at band room from his view from the ground for the last time, Ryan stepped up onto the high a foot high platform.
Instantly, the band room got noticeably quiet. The upperclassmen stopped their conversations and looked up at Ryan, while the freshmen just continued jabbering. After a minute, the few somewhat intelligent freshmen noticed that everybody else was glaring at them, and poked their talking neighbors.
Finally, all was quiet.
Enjoying the silence while he could, Ryan just looked out over the band, and they looked back at him. This went on for a while; the band just staring at their Drum Major, and him just staring at his band. Somebody coughed and was quickly poked.
"Ha, you blinked!" Ryan finally cheered. "Ok, now, on to band business. Ok…first things first. Freshmen – wow. First rule of band: When a director or somebody more important then you is on the podium, you don't talk, and you pay attention to whoever is up here. You guys are just lowly freshmen. You mean nothing to the band. People will not take you seriously if you get up here to say something. Only Blake, the section leaders, and I can. Got that?"
The little freshmen nodded, their eyes suddenly filled with fear.
"Wow," Ryan continued. "I can't believe the first thing I said to you guys was a rule. Wow. Sorry 'bout that. Band really isn't about rules. It's about making music and having fun. Oh, and you guys can sit. I'm going to be up here for a while, and you need your energy for marching. So, sit, sit! The floor isn't dirty yet. This is the only day until next year's first day of band camp that it is safe to sit on the floor."
Everybody obediently sat.
"Good," Ryan nodded. "Moving on…oh! Hi, I'm Ryan O'Connell, your Drum Major. Our band is small enough so we only need me. Most bands have two and an assistant. But you guys are lucky; you are always stuck with me! Isn't that great? Yeah, ok, maybe not…but, anywho…I, along with Mr. Blake and your sections leaders are the leader people. Listen to us. We know more then you do. If you have a question, ask. Better to look stupid by asking then to be proven stupid by doing something wrong."
"Amen!" the sections leaders called out.
"That's our band's motto," Ryan informed everybody. "Ok, next. I'm not going to introduce all the sections leaders, because frankly, I'm too damn lazy to. And besides, you'll meet all of them within the next few days. The SLs always sick of their sections within the first five minutes, so with all the switching of the sections that they do, you'll get to know each SL very well."
"Amy…" all the sections leaders except for Amy muttered.
"Hey!" Amy defended herself. "You try being stuck with the Guard, and see how long you can deal with them! I think I broke my record last year by 8 hours and 16 minutes."
"Yeah," Ryan agreed. "Guard girls…man, that sucks for you. Good luck with that."
A few freshmen girls looked around at each other and groaned.
"So, yeah, I'm sure you'll meet everybody soon enough," Ryan said. "But there are a few minor people who are deemed important enough to get to be introduced by yours truly and stand on the podium next to me. First off is our amazing music librarian, Ms. Mia Garver!"
Everybody clapped and a few upperclassmen cheered as a preppy looking junior stood up to join Ryan up front.
"Mia is in charge of all music and forms and stuff," Ryan said, explaining her job. "So tomorrow, when you all get your music, be sure to thank Mia for all the hard work she put in in making sure there was enough parts and stuff for everybody."
"Thank you, Mia," Mia's friends call out as she waved and sat back down.
"The next person is the first person to ever have this job, since it's the first year we've had somebody that thought it was needed…so, everybody give a big round of applause to Robby Molten, our band's first official Marching Band Photographer!"
A junior with long, shaggy brown hair lazily stood up and waved, a high tech camera on a strap around his neck.
"Robby will be going around all season taking pictures of everything and everybody, so just remember: You are never alone. There is somebody always watching…so no more picking your nose when you think nobody is looking! I made Robby promise to get as many shots of pickers as possible."
A bright flashed temporarily blinded everybody in the room, causing the majority of the people to jump.
"Just kidding," Robby said with a cheeky grin, ducking all the small bits of paper being chucked at him.
"Darn you, Mr. Word-I'm-not-allowed-to-use-on-school-property-and-in-the-presence-of-little-naïve-freshmen," Ryan glared. "But anyways, the only other person there is is Mr. Blake, but he said that he's busy right now, and that we should start without him…so, you are all going to break into your sections right now before we start marching. This way you can get to know each other and ask any last minute questions about band before we get started. So, SLs, get up and come here."
The various sections leaders and captions slowly gathered around Ryan up front.
"Flutes, go with Tiffany, Alto / tenor sax / horns, with Tony, Drumline, minus pit, who stays here with Max, go with Kyle…" Ryan listed off the various sections until the band room was empty except for the few pit people.
"Good luck," Ryan said to the freshmen pit before disappearing into Blake's office. "You'll need it."
