SAY DON'T GO || A Taylor Swift Story

02.

~V~

09.24.23

"Ms. Hart!" Violet yelled to our band director, tossing me my mace, which I caught in a nimble catch. "You'll never guess who Vallie Raine just met."

Ms. Hart, my band director, ran her fingers through her strawberry-blonde curls as she looked at me, tilting her head to the side. "I don't know. Some NFL wife?"

"Taylor Swift!" I said, a giddy smile spreading across my face. "She's here. She's in the box next to us. And she... she said that my 'Star-Spangled Banner' was 'amazing!'" I made air quotes around the last word, bouncing on my toes as I relayed the interaction to my band director.

Normally, most adults would have a surprised look on their face when a kid told them that they met their idol, but not Dawn Hart. She smiled, seeing my pure excitement, and after she glanced through the clear glass that separated the Marching Wildcats from the box that Taylor Swift was in, she nodded, as if she was confirming her suspicions. "Of course you did."

I laughed, my cheeks heating up in a bit of embarrassment. Ms. Hart was well-aware of my Taylor Swift obsession, to the point where she had promised that the last show our marching band did during the football season would be based on the Eras Tour. Violet, who had never been a fan of Taylor Swift, was about as enthusiastic as she had been for any of the other shows that we were doing this year, but as soon as I found out that I would get to conduct a ten-minute marching band show full of my favorite music, I was on cloud nine.

And to think that the very woman who made all of the music that we would play in my favorite marching show ever was the same woman who complimented the way I sang the national anthem. It was easily the most surreal moment of my life, and there was a part of me that wanted some sort of confirmation that I hadn't somehow fallen asleep and dreamed that it had happened. I mean, she was there, right?

It turned out that she was. I tossed my mace in between my hands, a nervous habit that I had developed over the course of the season, as I caught Taylor talking with Brittany Mahomes, both of them intently watching the game. All of a sudden, they jumped to their feet, cheering wildly and then launching into some sort of intricate handshake. Taylor seemed to see me watching her, because she pointed to my mace and flashed me a thumbs-up. I gave her a hand heart in return, my mind feeling like it was about to explode from the moment. How the hell was this real life?

"Drum majors!" Ms. Hart yelled, and I turned away from Taylor to focus on what my band director was saying. "Go get everyone lined up in a parade block outside. We'll take the ramps down to the first floor of the stadium, and then do our normal pregame run-on into the fight song to open the show. From there, we're going into the T-Swift show, just like we've rehearsed every day this week. And then we'll end it by playing 'Wildcat Spirit' off the field. Got it?"

"Got it!" I yelled back, flashing her a thumbs-up. "Salute or no salute?"

"Yes salute," Ms. Hart replied immediately. "Okay, we only have a little bit of time. Get everyone ready now. Go team!"

Violet nodded towards me, and I bit down on the silver whistle between my teeth, blowing into it once. It wasn't enough to disrupt everyone, but it definitely caught the attention of everyone in our box, and when I looked over my shoulder, I could see Taylor watching with a curious look on her face. Isn't she supposed to be here for Travis? I thought to myself.