Chapter One

I could keep my expressionsless drum major face on while I strode under the bleachers and around the stadium to the bathroom But then I was going to bawl.

Six thousand people, almost half the town, came to every home game of the high school football team. Tonight they crowded the stadium for the first game of the season.

They expected the band to be as good as usual. Instead, it had been the worst half-time show ever to shatter a hot September night. And I'd been in charge of it.

Me and the other drum major, Oliver Oken.

Allison knew exactly what i was doing.

She handed her batons to another majorette and hurried close behind me.

The band always took third quarter off. So i had about half an hour to get myself together, with Allison's help, before i had to be back in the stands to direct the band playing the fight song during fourth quarter. I felt Allison's hand on my back, supporting me, as i stepped through the bathroom door. My eyes watered, my nose tickled, I was ready to let loose--

Unfortunately, about twenty girls from the band were in the bathroom ahead of me.

Including Oliver's girlfriend of the month the Evil Twin. You think it hurts your feelings that girls talk about you behind your back, until they tell you to your face. And they each wanted a turn.

Every time, it started with "girlfriend" and ended with "bitch"

"Girlfriend, you think you're hot stuff, doctor's daughter. I like the nail through your nose, bitch."

"Girlfriend, you need to give it up. You call yourself the leader of the band. You only led us into the sounding like crap, bitch."

Allison stepped in front of me, putting herself between me and them. She seemed nine feet tall. She was a lot threatening dressed in her majorette leotard than I was dressed like a boy.But she pulled at her earing with one hand, so I knew she was stressing out.

"You voted for Lilly," she reminded them.

"I didn't vote for her," called a clarinet.

"Well somebody did."

"That's not what i heard," the Evil Twin said. The Evil Twin was either Miley or Luanne Stewarts-- I wasn't sure which one, and no one else seemed to know either. All we knew for sure was that the twins were evil. Or, one of them was evil and the other just looked the same.

I assumed the one currently dissing me was the one dating Oliver. Because she sure seemed to have it in for me.

"What's that suppose to mean?" I demanded, walking forward to face her. I didn't understand what Oliver saw in her besides heavy makeup, long hair, and enormous boobs. Maybe that was enough

"What do you mean, you heard nobody voted for me?"

"I mean, Mr.O'Toole quit his job in an awful big hurry, and right at the beginning of school. Maybe he had to leave because you convinced him to count the votes in your favor, if you know what i mean."

My jaw dropped at the twin and her bad blue eyeliner. I couldn't quite get my brain around what she thwas saying. She wasn't really accusing me of having sex with the band director, was she?

So ridiculous. I was the world's least sexy sixteen year-old. I mean, there's a reason my parents named me Lilliana.

"That's disgusting," Allison said to the twin. "Only a whore like you would think that up." Allison really was disgusted, or she wouldn't have talked that way. Usually she was above using words like "whore," calling people names, starting catfights in bathroom--

"And you," the twin said to Allison.

"Your daddy must have bought your votes for majorette. I know Mr.O'Tootle didn't want any of that."

I wasn't sure the twin meant this as a racist comment. But that's the way the African-American girls in the bathroom took it. and maybe they knew best. Previously they'd wanted to stuff me down the sink. Now they came at the twin to flush her down the toilet. I took the opportunity to pull Allison toward the door. I could cry later. Before we managed to leave, the twin turned back to Allison and made the mistake of touching her majorette tiara. Allison whirled around with her claws out.

"FIGHT!" someone squealed. Several freshmen made it out the door, still shrieking.

I hadn't witnessed a fight like this since a couple of girls got into it over a Ping-Pong game in seventh grade PE. And I was about to be the costar. "Hey!" Oliver boomed in his drum major command voice. His tall frame filled the doorway. Allison and the twin stopped. There was complete silence for two seconds at the shock of getting caught. Then everyone realized it was Oliver, not a teacher, and screamed there was a boy in the girl's bathroom.

Oliver reached through the girls. I thought he was reaching for the twin to save her from herself. But his hand closed over my wrist. I strumbled after him as he dragged me out of the bathroom and through the line at the concession stand, to a corner behind a concrete pillar that held up the stadium.

He let go of my wrist. "What. Were. You. Doing?" I was gazing way up at the world's most beautiful boy. Oliver was a foot taller than me and had a golden tan, wavy black hair, and deep brown eyes fringed with dark,thich eye lashes. And these were almost the first words he'd spoken to me since the band voted us both drum majors last May.

"Your girlfriend started it. Why don't you talk to her?"

"My girlfriend isn't drum major."

"So?"

"So, it's bad enough that i have to be drum major with you. It's bad enough that the band sounded like crap tonight. But you are not going to get in fights with people in the band. We have the same position. If you stood to the level, I've stood to that level. I'm not going to let you make me look irresponsible."

I had already known this was the way he felt about me. He'd tried his best during summed band camp to act like i didn't exist. Except when he spoke low to the trombones and they muttered under their breath as I passed.

"Your not my boss." My voice rose. "You don't get to tell me what to do"

He leaned farther down toward me and hissed. "We are not going to yell at each other in public. Do you understand?"

"Good job drum majors!" called some trumpets passing by. They gave us the thumbs-up and sarcastic smiles. "Teamwork-- who needs it?"

Behind them, Allison waited for me against the wall, arms folded, tiara askew. I turned my back on Oliver. We weren't through with our discussion, but we weren't going to solve anything by trading insults. And I wanted to make sure all Allison's cubic zicronia were in place.

I was glad about the quasi-catfight. I was glad Oliver had reprimanded me too. Now i was pissed with the band and with Oliver, instead of mortified at myself for being such a bad drum major on my first try.

And it was nice to find out that Oliver knew I existed,after all..

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-lina