AN: I totally met (a grown up) Wes (from A Fine Line) today! There's this adorable guy at my work who looks exactly like I pictured my character – complete with British accent. Sorry, just had to share.

I do own the characters.

Chapter 3: You Say You Want a Revolution…

"Don't tell me to stop.
Tell the rain not to drop.
Tell the wind not to blow,
'Cause you said so, mmm.
Tell the sun not to shine,
Not to get up this time, no, no
Let it fall by the way
But don't leave me where I lay.
Tell the leaves not to turn
But don't ever tell me I'll learn, no, no."

- Madonna, Don't Tell Me

Apparently, a hush had fallen over the room as I had approached the list, because when I looked up, everyone was doing their best to look at me, but pretend like they weren't. Conversations had become quiet, and it seemed the group collectively leaned in to see what I would do. I was trying to process what I had read. Mr. Jenkins had thrown not one, but two curveballs by making Jenny and I leaders of the band.

What would Marti do?

What would Jenny say?

Why did Mr. Jenkins do what he did?

How would everyone react?

Wait, why was I worrying about everyone else? I was DRUM MAJOR!!!

So I did what I do, I whooped! My crazy recognizable yell (long story, short, it's a family tradition that goes back generations), seemed to release then tension in the room, and, after a big group laugh, members of the marching Pirates came up to start congratulating me. I hadn't realized I had this much support in the band, and it almost got me choked up. There was simply too much emotion going on in a matter of minutes for me to comprehend.

While I was talking to everyone about how excited I was, I realized I hadn't seen either Jenny or Marti yet, and for that I was very glad. I wasn't sure what they were thinking – maybe they thought they had things locked up so much that they didn't even need to look at Mr. Jenkins' list. Well, when they did look it was going to be quite a surprise.

"WHAT THE HELL?!!" A yell sounded out across the room, and actually, I was paraphrasing a bit.

I guess they found the list. Rather than be calm, understanding, young adults about Mr. Jenkins' decision, I had a feeling things were about to take a very opposite turn. So much for starting out my season in a positive way…

Taking a deep breath, I approached the girls and decided to open with, "Hey, Jenny, congratulations!"

She turned on me, recognized who I was, and said rudely, "What is that supposed to mean?!"

I shrugged, "Umm, I don't know, I guess I mean, 'good job.' I'm really looking forward to—"

"To what? To our magical season together?! To all the good times we're going to have?! I can't believe Jenkins would pull this crap. If Marti isn't drum major, then I don't want to be either."

Wait, was she threatening to drop out because of her friend not being her perfect co-Drum Major? Sad. And this was who was the best of the best? The leader of the band? I would rather lead the group by myself than have someone like her conducting near me. With that thought, I'm not sure what came over me. In my life pre-being selected as Drum Major (yeah, I know that was only 10 minutes ago), I wasn't really one to rock the boat. It wasn't my style. However, it occurred to me that it was going to be my name called when we went to competitions in the fall, and I sure didn't want that kind of attitude next to me.

"Then why don't you?"

"Why don't I what?" Jenny huffed.

"Why don't you quit?"

Jenny stared me down for a minute, trying to figure out of I was for real or not.

"Maybe I will," she huffed.

"Well, if you're going to bring that attitude, then you'd be doing everyone a favor by quitting. Whether or not you're with us, we're going somewhere this season!"

"Fine!"

Of course, being in the band room, we had already drawn a small crowd. We weren't exactly stating our case for 'Team Drum Major,' but I wasn't going to back down. I honestly believed what I had said. There wasn't going to be room in my band for that attitude and everyone should know it as soon as possible. I noticed that Marti had taken the opportunity to slink away during Jenny and I's 'discussion.'

Mr. Jenkins, unaware of the drama that had been going on right outside his door, came out, and said, "Hey, girls, congratulations to both of you!"

"Thanks, sir, I won't let you down!" I said firmly.

"I quit!" said Jenny at the same time.

Mr. Jenkins blinked rapidly, and then asked, "Can I speak to both of you in my office?"

We followed him. After much going back and forth, screaming and shouting, the results were still the same. Jenny was out, and now, it was just me, alone as the solo Drum Major. I was too confused by everything that had taken place to comprehend what had happened.After Jenny stomped off, leaving Mr. Jenkins and I to look strangely at each other, he asked, "Are you sure you can handle this?"

After a moment, I considered, and realized, I was probably better off on my own. For better or worse, the person who was ultimately responsible was me, and I was prepared to live with that fact. I answered confidently, "I am."

"Great – because I have some wonderful news!"

I was surprised that a) Mr. J had readily accepted my statement that I could lead the band completely on my own, but also b) he was down half of his drum major staff and it didn't seem to bother him. Still stunned by the events of the past half-hour, I could only reply dumbly, "What's that?"

"I'm not sure if you heard, but it's confirmed we're getting a new band tech!"

"That's great," I replied, because, after Jenny's (and probably Marti's) defection from the band, it was definitely much needed wonderful news.

"He's agreed to stay on and act as an overall support person for the whole band throughout the season. He comes highly recommended from Phantom Regiment where he recently aged out. I think we're really lucky to get him."

I was a bit stunned. Usually, our 'support' was in the form of local music majors coming down for a few days to help us with our lame excuse for a band camp. They would check in on us now and then, but we rarely saw any of them past September. We never knew anyone with corps experience, mostly because we couldn't afford their type of help. My mind was reeling with all the potential of our future season. However, at that moment, I couldn't think of a single thing to ask except, "What's his name?"

"Ned Buchanan."

"Ned?" I tried very hard to keep the skepticism out of my voice, but was entirely unsuccessful. I wondered what kind of confidence a wannabe band director named Ned could inspire in our band.

"He comes very highly recommended, Rigby, I don't think we should judge him based on his name."

I tried to ignore my own immaturity by changing the subject, "When do we get to meet him?"

"Not until band camp. He has previous commitments until then."

I was instantly relieved. As excited as I was to have good ole Ned's help – I desperately wanted a chance to get everyone into shape before Mr. High and Mighty Corps showed up to judge us and find us unworthy. Wanting to change the subject (again), I asked, "So, now that I'm drum major, I have to know, what's the show this year?"

"Ned and I decided on a great theme – Around the World in 8 Minutes!" he exclaimed excitedly.

While I was glad Mr. Jenkins was stoked about the show, I kind of didn't like how seamlessly Ned had already worked his way into our band without even setting foot on campus. Still, it already sounded like a more original show than we had done in all my seasons. Usually, we did boring crowd pleasers that were easy to memorize and didn't have complicated parts. I was already picturing where we could go with music – and it was a show that could definitely take us places.

I excused myself from Mr. Jenkins' office and walked out into the now deserted band room. Having been locked up with the band director, I wasn't sure if or what Jenny had told everyone about her decision to quit. Furthermore, I wasn't sure how the rest of the band was going to react. Both Jenny and Marti were popular Pirates, and while I completely disagreed with their immaturity, it was just another strike against my goal to make the band better. We needed strong players and leaders. I hoped no one would follow their lead – I needed everyone I could get!

After a weekend where my emotions ran the entirety of the spectrum – I think I finally adjusted to my title as drum major. I accepted it, and I came to terms that I would be doing it on my own.

I was proud of myself.

I was ready for the upcoming week.

Auditions for leadership went differently than I expected. In my duties as drum major, and without a co-drum major, I was running around trying to be everywhere at once. I'm not saying Marti and Jonathan (last year's drum majors) weren't 'there' for us exactly, but they were usually more interested in each other than the rest of the band as a general rule. I wanted to make sure people knew who I was and would hopefully feel comfortable talking to me. Furthermore, I hoped that if I showed boundless energy and constant 'band spirit' that maybe it would catch on.

The Guard auditions were going on at the same time, and I really wanted to make my presence known with the girls. Adelaide, another junior, was running the auditions and was most likely going to be Guard Captain. She and I got along okay, but I knew this was going to be a sticky relationship. As bad as we were as instrumentalists and marchers, the Guard was also particularly bad. I wasn't sure how I was going to address this particular problem just yet. Most of the girls seemed content just to dance around the field, with no particular emphasis on timing or choreography – it was going to be an uphill battle. It also brought forward the fact that I was totally intimidated by any section where I couldn't 'do' what they were doing. It's not like I could pick up a flag and be all, "Oh, here's how you do it." Nor could I pick up a flute or trumpet and blast out the part. I wasn't even that good a drummer, really…what was I doing as Drum Major?!!!

Fortunately, I knew, deep down, even without all those skills, I could at least lead by example. At this point, it was all I had going for me, so I had hold onto it.

For the rest of the week, Mr. Jenkins and I had our work cut out for us to decide on the leadership. My selection for drum major apparently made it okay to have the door opened for anyone else who was a bit…different. Although I had never been to the section leader auditions, this year seemed particularly strange. While it seemed Todd would make an excellent brass Captain, I wasn't sure who would be his woodwind equivalent. With Jenny gone, it seemed there was no natural person to take her place…until a surprise turned up in the form of a freshman saxophonist named Emma. I had never met anyone with so much natural leadership ability. People just listened to her. Everett, was, of course, unchallenged for drum line Captain.

Mr. Jenkins and I sat at the end of the week, discussing all of the candidates and their various strengths and weaknesses. We completely agreed on Everett and Todd. While Todd was the strong, strong silent type, he was an outstanding player, and excellent marcher, and just an overall intimidating guy. He could keep people in line. Furthermore, I didn't sense that he was carrying a grudge from not winning drum major, which was a good thing.

However, we were about to come to fists over who would lead the woodwinds. Mr. Jenkins was fighting for Kristin, who was going to be a senior, but, to me at least, didn't really embody the band spirit I thought she should have. She wanted to be in charge, but I think mostly to save face because everyone thought she should be in charge. De facto leadership was not something I had room for. I didn't care if it was unorthodox to put a sophomore in the role. Emma was the best person for the job.

Mr. Jenkins sighed, "I wish Ned was here…"

I personally didn't see what Ned being here would accomplish. We knew the abilities of the members of the band, not some random band tech, however, I guessed, it would be nice to have a third person to break the tie.

I decided to make my final case, "Here's what I see, Mr. Jenkins. Let's make Emma woodwind Captain, and give Kristin lieutenant."

Technically, we'd never even really had a lieutenant position before. After the Captain's, people kind of just worked out a section leader, but there was nothing truly official. However, I knew other bands had elaborate systems of ranks to keep their students in line. Maybe the extra structure could help our program as well. Fortunately, I didn't have to resort to tears, and in the end, got my way. Once again, I was proud of myself and the feeling was one I wanted to stick with.

My next stop was talking to the new leaders. I had ideas and plans for the summer, and I needed their help.

AN: I suppose I could be a bit off on this whole leadership thing. Does your band have a system that makes sense? Basically, Rigby and Co. are starting from scratch, so I think what's in place will work. Also, while I feel like I could have gone further with the whole audition process for the section leaders, I'm also trying to streamline the action of the story as it relates to my protagonist…Thoughts?

Finally, if you have a minute, I could use some help/advice/etc. – check out my profile for more details.