Band Class Vol. 2

Winter's Pass

Chills rose through my back and up my neck, to and through my body they roamed.

"Oh, so Luben gave those two Stands too," Ruben snarked. "Better kill them before they shoot up, or something." He silently said, muttering as usual.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up." I told him, focusing my gaze unto Rosandra and Patrick's looming Stands.

"Ha they probably have edgy names like, wake me up, or something," Juan said, coughing and supressing his laughter of the joke, waiting for us to burst into laughter, which we didn't.

The day ended once again, now two days remained until school ended, actual Finals, where the day would end early and I wouldn't go to Band until Thursday, as the schedule plays as 1, 3, and 5 periods are on Wednesday, and the other 3 on Thursday.

Wednesday was normal, no lunch, not much in general. Simply tests.

That night I worried far too much. Sure maybe the edgelords Rosie and Patrick weren't ones too worry about, but their existence brings the thought, did Luben give way more people than we thought, Stands?

It was a wild thought that struck fear into me. Stands were unpredictable, we didn't even know the potential of ours yet. But I had the Reader's Stone, the gem so important to The Reader herself, whatever it could do was probably powerful.

I picked up my large phone and accessed Google Chrome and began typing into the search bar, The Reader's Stone.

Nothing, as expected.

I sighed into retreat and fell into a sleep of loss and fear of what would be to come.

The next school played out normally, AP European History and Band, where the wave of auditions only continued but left a jovial hour and a half for the students to enjoy.

But even that period was boring and trivial with trains of thought zooming through my head like a proverbial Sonic the Hedgehog.

"Micheala, you made it into Symphonic?" Peter del Torro asked me, standing and looming before me, trumpet in hand.

"Mmhm." I mumbled, slowly and irritatingly looking at him with gloom.

"Okay," he said as he walked away into the cubby room in order to practice.

I had made it into Symphonic Winds, the 5th Period band that required an audition of 12 major scales and 6 harmonic minor scales. I had crammed it all into my head and apparently made it in, despite my horrible audition previously mentioned.

I am a very proudful person of all that I am, I am a talented person, I am a great artist and (wronfully) consider myself a great writer, and I'd expect that my achievement of getting into Symphonic would've boosted my mood amd ego, it did not.

The bell rung and dismissed us after an age long audition upon audition, my 6th period Geometry was boring and long and stress-inducing as usual. And rung the bell did again, dismissing us at last for three weeks.

Winter Break was upon us, three weeks, almost four, that seemed like forever would plague me. I had no friends to be around and only texting them would get me through.

Christmas was lamer than percieved, New Years an annoyance, and the Break's end was stressful.

But certain events throughout the weeks drove me to fear.

My phone rung out with those shitty Amber Alerts one get's when someone's kidnapped and such.

It wasn't super common to get one around my area, but getting them was a shrug off, as it wasn't any of the children I knew, as to say, my family.