Every August before the start of the school year, Jamie has boot camp for the marching band, where they teach the freshmen the drill commands, practice and rehearse the chosen pieces, and begin building their sets. They're also asked to participate in the local fundraiser for a different charity each year.
There are swarms of volunteers, bake sales, games, and even a miniature train for kids to ride on. It's loud and crazy, and Jamie loves it all. 100 percent of the proceeds are going to nearby youth shelters this year.
Lincoln High's marching band sets up in the pavilion in the centre of the park while people stroll around talking and laughing.
"I have extra stand clips up here if someone needs something to hold down their music." Mrs. Templeton says from the front. "We don't want any pages blowing away."
A few minutes later, they're ready to go, and she raises her baton, signalling the percussionists to roll them in for Lincoln's fight song. It's catchy and meant to grab peoples' attention and hype them up- greatly effective at the football games- and there's immediately a crowd.
Jamie doesn't pay them any attention as he gets lost in the music and focuses on hitting the high notes. It's not the school's fight song for no reason, and the quick rhythms and belting melody demand attention.
The crowd claps and cheers, and there's a loud whoop from a few feet away. To the side and slightly behind Jamie is Mason, who grins and waves.
Leaning back in his seat, Jamie stretches his arm out, and Mason reaches between the bars of the railing to knock their knuckles together.
"You're doing great," he whispers.
"Thanks." He goes to say more, but then Mrs. Templeton calls out the next piece they're playing, and Jamie sits up to change his music.
As always, the performances are fun as they play pop songs with people cheering and singing along. A group of girls start dancing and encourage others to join in. Mason stays nearby the whole time, only disappearing a few times before coming back a few minutes later.
One of Jamie's favourite songs to play with the marching band is Thriller because it has the best trumpet part, is iconic, and has the best chord progressions, not to mention the descending glissando scream everyone does at once. Everyone loves it, and the band usually plays it a couple of times during the few hours they're performing as new people show up and others leave.
Other favourites from both the crowds and musicians are Bad Romance, Don't Stop Believing, and Final Countdown. They play them all and more, songs that have been on the radio for twenty or thirty years and others that are recent releases and at the top of Billboard's Top Hits.
Jamie's cheeks are sore and tired, and he's hungry by the time they're done, but he's also happy with the day so far. The mood stayed up the whole time as people came and went, wandering around the park.
"Here."
Looking up from where he was putting his trumpet in its case, Jamie sees Mason holding out a bottle of water. He takes it with a smile and thanks. The water is ice cold and a bit of a shock, but it's also refreshing. He unintentionally downs it all in one go.
"Damn. Good thing I bought two," Mason says with a chuckle.
"Sorry."
Mason gives him a funny look. "What for?"
Jamie's not really sure, but he's saved from answering when Mrs. Templeton gets them to start packing up the chairs and music stands. They're directed to her van, and with everyone helping, the space is cleared out in no time, and they are quickly dismissed, left to explore the fundraiser or to go home.
Sitting on the steps to the now-empty pavilion, Mason waits for Jamie with the other bottle of water.
"Thanks." He sips the water and looks out at the people milling about. "Enjoying it so far?"
A shoulder playfully nudges his. "You know I am. The marching band is always fun to listen to. Here, I got you a muffin, too. We can go find proper food afterwards. I saw a taco truck around."
Jamie accepts the offered muffin and grins when he sees its blueberry. His favourite. "How'd you know I'm hungry?"
"A little bird told me she heard your stomach growling." He chuckles when Jamie elbows him, then says, "Nah, man. You're my best friend. I'm supposed to know these things. You're usually hungry after performances."
"That's true." It is, especially after a marching set. Those always leave him drained and with a hollow leg, and he can eat his weight in burgers. The first time he performed with the marching band, his stomach felt like it was going to cave in, and Mason watched, mildly impressed and partly concerned, as he scarfed down three double cheeseburgers from McDonald's. He remembers Mason asked when he last ate and didn't believe him when he said only an hour before the performance.
Like most places with Mexican cuisine, the taco truck has a mostly spicy menu, and Jamie lets Mason figure out which taco is the mildest. Jamie pays, though, because Mason already bought him two waters and a muffin. They go back to the pavilion to sit side by side, shoulders and elbows bumping as they eat and watch people walk past.
They spend the next couple of hours walking around and looking at the different items being sold and services being offered. Jamie doesn't mind spending a little extra cash at the fundraiser every year, especially since the money is for youth shelters this year.
He thinks about the many, many heartbreaking stories of lgbtq+ kids being kicked out and disowned by their parents, and he's eternally grateful that his mom loves him unconditionally. Too many queer kids don't get that, and they don't deserve how they get treated when they come out or are forced out. Jamie knows that technically, the fundraiser isn't going specifically to an lgbtq+ youth shelter, but he's sure that those kids are there and will benefit from the money they raise this weekend.
There is only so much they can do, though, and Jamie's mentally preparing for going home, but then Mason finds a table selling games and game accessories; board games, card games, D&D dice, and figurines. A few sound interesting, like What Do You Meme, Red Flags, and the famous Cards Against Humanity and its expansion packs.
Jamie buys Band Is Horrible, which plays like Cards Against Humanity but is about marching band, which Jamie finds absolutely hilarious. He's definitely going to have to bring it into rehearsals to play with the other members of the band. He knows they're going to love it as much as he does. It'll make for a lot of fun on the long bus rides to competitions and the late nights in hotel rooms. And while they're sitting around on breaks and waiting for rehearsals and performances to start.
For now, he and Mason make their way back to the pavilion to play the game, and Jamie spends a lot of time excitedly explaining what the cards refer to whenever Mason doesn't understand it. He knows a decent amount from what Jamie's told him over the years, but not everything.
"You really should just join band. Then you'll understand everything, and we can have fun going to competitions together."
"Considering senior year starts in less than a month, I think it's a little too late to learn how to read music, how to play an instrument, learn all the drill movements, combine them all together, and compete."
"It takes you literally two seconds to learn anything. You'd pick it up in no time!"
"Sorry, Jamie, but I'm good living the band life through you and this game."
Jamie exaggerates a pout but doesn't argue. He knows it's too late for Mason to join the band, but he likes teasing him nonetheless.
A popping sound breaks them out of the game, and Jamie looks up to see that the dark sky is lit up with twinkling gold light. The fireworks.
"Wait, what time is it?"
Mason checks his phone. "Ah. It's, uh. It's nine."
"Already?" Jamie hadn't noticed the passing time as he and Mason played the game, but he realizes now why he had to turn on the flashlight on his phone so that they could see the cards.
"Apparently. C'mon. Let's pack up. We'll watch the fireworks, then we can go home."
"Yeah, okay."
At some point as the sun went down, the air grew colder, and Jamie presses himself against Mason to keep warm. For the entire time he's known him, Mason has always been warm, radiating heat that Jamie likes to shuffle closer to in the winter.
Mason notices and throws his arm around Jamie's neck, pulling him into his side.
"I love you, man."