Keeping in Line (19 page)

Henry wasn’t usually much of a talker, but tonight it seemed he had a lot to say. He cleared his throat and began, “Hey guys. So, a few things to go over with you. When we started this season, I mentioned how much of the leadership graduated with last year’s class and how you would all have to step up your game. Now, I didn’t plan on being gone as long as I had to be. As this is my sixth season as instructor of this Line, I’ve seen a lot of talent come and go. I’ve also learned that as difficult a part I can write, or as much as we can practice, when it comes down to it, you are the ones playing the notes and the decisions you make, well, all of it adds up to be your Line. While I respect J.D. as Captain, would I have pulled the first bass to move up to snare? Probably not. But these are decisions we cannot reverse and must go forward with. So, as we go into competition tomorrow, just remember that in life we don’t always make the right decisions, but those of us who are smart enough, learn from our mistakes.”

Bronwyn smiled to herself and wished she could be as diplomatic as Henry when it came to thoughts of J.D. or Dana. It also made her think about Drew – and not for the first time in the semester she wished she could go back in time and make the right choice – not to get involved in the first place. Bronwyn looked around and noticed the usually rambunctious Line was quiet, contemplating what Henry had just said.

Henry smiled and continued, “Now that that’s out of the way, I’d like you all to know that while I was gone, I finished writing the Indoor show.”

Everyone looked up eagerly.

“Even though this has been in my head for a while, I’ve been holding off, but I think maybe you guys are the Line to do it. We’re doing selections from Holst’s Planets Suite. Be ready, because it’s going to take a lot of effort and practice to get it right.”

The home game that evening marked a massive improvement in the band’s relations and its overall performance quality. Everyone was still buzzing about the Brass/Line ‘duet’ in the Commons that lunchtime and the sections were encouraged by the crowd to play an encore. Bronwyn reprised her role with Geoff and the cheerleaders came over to the band section to join in.

To say the half-time show was the best run ever was an understatement. Even the crowd responded to the newly improved performance.

From the stands, Mr. Izzo stared in bewilderment at his band. At Thursday’s rehearsal they hadn’t performed nearly this well. He shook his head. That was the crazy and sometimes magical thing about working with high school students – they could surprise you when you least expected it.

As Drew slowly brought his hands down, he knew the show had been a success. From behind him, he heard the roar of the collected marching bands gathered for the Buccaneers Marching Classic.

J.D. tapped the notes on his snare to quickly get the band off the field.

As per usual, the stands were full and the Forrest Hills marching band had to wait on the sidelines for the results. After the two remaining bands performed, the Captains, Lieutenants and drum majors walked calmly out to the center of the field to await the results.

Bronwyn thought about the night’s performance, recognizing that as far as they had come, there were still a number of amazing bands in the competition. She didn’t realize until now how much they took winning, or placing in the top three, for granted. In these high stakes competitions, you couldn’t blame rebuilding or injury, you just had to go out and march the best damn show you could. She knew all of these bands worked just as hard as Forrest Hills did – they had been sweating since August, they had put in long hours practicing out on the field. Bronwyn looked out over the field and saw that Geoff and J.D. were standing together – as if they had been best friends forever. Things were as they were supposed to be, but was it too late? Had the band come together in time? As much as she didn’t want to, she also desperately tried not to notice Drew and Christina stood next to each other. In uniform, they looked even more perfect together, if that was possible.

Finally, it was time for their Class awards. The band was called to attention and, as luck would have it, Bronwyn had lined up near the proximity of the Guard.

Of all the sections to be lined up next to.

Just breathe…

She’s standing right in front of me!

Although she projected to everyone else that she was over the incident, Bronwyn was still smarting from the rumors Dana started. She didn’t think she was going to be letting go of that grudge any time soon. It was then she looked over and realized she was also standing next to Tony. Since the game last Friday there had been an uneasy truce between them. She wasn’t about to forgive five years of verbal abuse in one night, but she was glad to see that there was a glimmer of hope that people could change. She looked over and tried to control a giggle when she saw Tony and Dana were making weird faces at each other.

Fortunately, Tony and Dana’s bizarre mating habits were interrupted and it was time for the captions to be announced. As the competition organizers went through each category, each section was shocked and disappointed as the band failed to win even one caption. There were a few second and third place trophies collected, but nothing like their usual placements. Bronwyn saw seriously disappointed looks on the faces around her. When the High Percussion awards were called and the Line placed a mere third, it was like being punched in the stomach. The announcement forced Bronwyn to recognize the obvious, while she knew her part of the show was clean, she had been ignoring the rest of the Line and what she could do to help them. The negative mood this season had come from J.D., but why had she submitted to it? Leaders didn’t have to have something special on their uniform – or be officially designated – they could just be the part.

The walk back to the equipment truck was an exceptionally quiet one. Bronwyn was especially sorry for the seniors. They only had one more chance to win. She thought about the drumline’s portion of the show and some of the other breaks she had seen. The third place trophy was actually a nice gesture from the judges. From what she had heard, South Washington and Swiss County both looked better and played a cleaner show. Back on the bus, it was obvious everyone was feeling terrible about the evening’s events.

Henry spoke briefly to the group, “Next week, guys. No worries.”

Lance added, “I’m sure we can learn a lot from the judges tapes.”

J.D. seemed especially pissed. Rather than be a good role model and boost everyone’s morale, he was sitting and sulking in the last seat of the bus. Bronwyn secretly wondered what was going through her Captain’s mind.

Maybe he’s actually regretting his decision to bump Tony up…

Do you think he would actually admit it?

This is J.D. we’re talking about.

I won’t make the same mistake.

When?

When I’m Captain.

Although the atmosphere was sad, Bronwyn smiled to herself. By her senior year, she vowed to learn from those who came before her. She would have the strongest Line Forrest Hills had ever seen.

Although Mr. Izzo tried to reinforce what a great job the band had done, how far they had come, and how proud everyone should be – the mood in the band room was a quiet one. Returning Stewie to the percussion closet, Bronwyn knew there wasn’t going to be a trip to Waffle House tonight. She and the girls had decided to have an impromptu sleepover. With duffel bags packed for any occasion, Meredith and Bronwyn didn’t have to go home first. They waited in front of the school for Megan’s mom to pick them up. Ben decided to be a gentleman and wait with them, which Bronwyn thought was a very nice gesture. She didn’t realize she had been riding with a romantic all season.

At least there is some hope out there…

Around 3AM and halfway through their favorite card game, Bronwyn made an impromptu announcement, “Girls, I have to tell you something.”

Megan whispered loudly, “You still like Drew.”

Bronwyn sighed, then threw a pillow at her friend’s head, “Aaaahhhh!! Is it that obvious?”

Meredith nodded, “Sorry, but yeah. You get all angsty every time he’s around or his name is mentioned.”

Bronwyn looked worried, “Do you think he knows?”

Megan replied, “Actually, I think it’s only obvious to girls. Guys are completely oblivious to that kind of stuff.”

After she played the next card in the series, Meredith asked, “What about Mr. Brass Captain? You guys look pretty cute together, and he’s not dating anyone right now.”

“He’s nice enough, but it just kills me to see Christina and Drew. I think all of this is being made worse by the fact that skankity Dana and Tony were all lovey dovey in front of me tonight. It seems like everywhere I turn everyone is disgustingly happy. No offense, Mere.”

“None taken.”

Megan asked, "So you don’t want to even try dating Geoff?”

“Do you really think he likes me that much?”

“I wish you could’ve seen yourself in the stands last night.”

“Was I that bad?”

Meredith laughed, “Well, I can see where he might be getting the idea that you like him.”

Megan joined her friends laughing and said, “I think the whole band could see that.”

Bronwyn put down the winning card and said, “Did I ever tell either of you that I had no idea my 10th grade year was going to turn out like this?”

Meredith answered, “Well, I seem to remember you saying you wanted things to be different this year.”

“Remind me to keep my big mouth shut next time.”

* * *

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Accelerando

After sleeping in the following day, Bronwyn went home feeling significantly relieved she had finally shared the “secret” that she wasn’t quite over Drew like she had been trying to convince herself she was. That being said, now that the information was out there, she still had no idea what to do with it. The end of the season was in sight, and as a sophomore, Bronwyn wouldn’t have many opportunities left to interact with Drew after November.

Bronwyn walked into the percussion period on Monday, not exactly sure what the tapes from the competition were going to say. As a freshman, and a member of the Pit last year, she hadn’t been so keenly aware of what the tapes highlighted. However, last year, the show had been amazing and they had received firsts left, right and center. Former quint Lieutenant Tom had been so proud of the first competition tape that he had it framed and it was placed above the door of the percussion room. It had even become a tradition that before a competition, the drummers would touch it for good luck. The sophomore snare had a feeling the tapes today were not going to be so kind.

Before starting the first tape, J.D. addressed the other members of the Line, “If any one of you is mentioned specifically by a judge in this thing…you get laps before practice tomorrow. Don’t think I’m not serious.”

Bronwyn doubted she had anything to really worry about. She knew she had played a very clean show.

With the sounds of the crowded stands and announcer in the background, the judge’s voice carried over, “…Always look forward to hearing the Forrest Hills drumline. Let’s see what you have for me tonight.”

Bronwyn heard Drew count the band off and the show started. She held her breath until the drum solo. The snare solo was very close to being clean however, she could hear someone lagging just a little bit.

“…quints great job, snares….solo…almost clean, looks like one of you on the end has a little more work to do.”

The judge frantically talked his way through the entire show. As the closer came to a finish, the judge had one more remark, “Oh, what’s this? First bass is off step.”

While the judge wrapped up his comments about the overall performance, J.D. looked at a notepad he had been frantically scribbling on. There were only two snares “on the end,” Bronwyn and Tony. There was only one first bass, Pete. With how close the drumline captions were, it could’ve been those small things that had lost first place for the Line. J.D. put the notebook down and said, “Let’s start with the snares.”

Tony was the first to speak, and put his hands up, “No way dude, you don’t actually think it was me, do you?”

Bronwyn was flabbergasted. She was sure that Tony had messed up the solo. She could understand the pressure he was under in such a large band, with more than 5,000 people watching, and only six people playing…it was easy to drop notes or lose concentration.

Tony continued, “Look, Bronwyn can’t even speak up. Obviously it was her.”

Through clenched teeth she said slowly, “I did…not…f…up…the…solo.”

J.D. looked at both of them.

Adam had sat by listening for long enough. He said, “Tony, believe me, I can vouch for Bronwyn. We were clean on the West Side.”

Lance added, “There’s no shame, dude. I mean you just joined the section like, a week ago.”

Tony crossed his arms and challenged, “You all heard my audition. I nailed the solo.”

Bronwyn threw her hands up in frustration and said angrily, “I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation. I played the solo perfectly.”