Marching On The Club Book 3

Chapter 3

Chapter 3
"BAND TEN HUT!" We all went to set. "Make sure you practice and get a good night sleep, you're dismissed," Erin said.
Since Drew was section leader we went to his house for the season. "Take your baritones to my house," he said.
We later met up with Drew at 6897 Devon St Rd, not too far north from the school. I sneaked into the bathroom and I dialed my dad's number from my cell phone. "Hello," he answered from the other side.
"Hey, I'm staying at my section leader's house like last year. His house is nearby the school and I could easily bike to school if I wanted to."
"Do you want me to take your bike over there then?"
"Yes please, I would highly appreciate it thank you."
"I'll be right over, just text me the address so I won't get lost trying to find you."
We hung up, and I was still in the bathroom; texting my dad the address. "Where is Jennifer," I heard Drew ask Brandon. "Jennifer?" Drew started calling my name. I slightly opened the bathroom door, hoping that at least someone would just see me through the small crack in the door. "I need to use the bathroom," Stephen said. I backed up to the wall. Stephen opened the bathroom door.
"Oh, hi Jennifer!"
"You found her?"
"Yeah, she was right here! Do you need to use the bathroom?"
"No, I'm sorry."
I quickly rushed out of the bathroom to allow Stephen to use it. "Where were you?"
"Calling my dad."
"Are you okay? Is there something you need to talk about?"
"If you ever need us, just talk to us. We are all here for you man," Brandon added.
"Yes; I'm okay, and no I don't need to talk to anyone right now. But thanks anyway."
I quickly ran upstairs and down the hall to the bedroom door at the end of the hall to the left. I had no idea where or what room the guys were going to claim, and I didn't care what room they decided to take. Just as long as I didn't interfere with their lives then I'm a-okay. "Do you guys want to practice before or after dinner," Drew asked. "I don't care," William said. "It doesn't really matter," Ryan agreed. "Can we practice before," Brandon asked.
"Okay. Where'd Jennifer run off to? Someone go get her and let her know of our plans."
"I'll get her," Stephen said.
"HEY, JENNIFER!"
"WHAT DO YOU WANT?"
"WE'RE ABOUT TO PRACTICE!"
I thought of making it easier on everyone if I just got out of the bedroom, come downstairs, and then talk to Stephen. So that way we won't have any neighbors complaining about how loud this house is. I came downstairs. "Get your baritone out!" Right as Drew said that my phone rang. My dad texted me; 'I'm here!' "Just one second," I said. "Let's just warm up then as we wait," Drew said as everyone else got out their baritones. I walked outside and my dad pulled out my bike from the back of his truck. I hugged my dad as we said goodbye.
"Have a fun season!"
He drove away as I put my bike on the side of Drew's house. I came back in and everyone was doing scales and other warm ups while I went back upstairs to take my baritone out of its case and then I joined everyone else downstairs. Stephen of course was doing his own thing on the baritone; he wasn't even warming up. Either that or he has a different definition of what a warm up is. I just stood there in the corner by myself. I pretended to look out the window as if there was something out there that was way more interesting than my own section. I didn't even want to be here right now! I just had a long, hard, and kind of a rough day. But it's kind of hard to get a bad day especially on the first day of band camp with the exact same people who I used to call my second family nearly two years ago! I got a rough day anyways. I obviously had a lot on my mind; I just refused to talk about it because I didn't want to seem sad or depressed. I didn't want my very own section to care and ask questions about me because I didn't want to make them concerned about me. I better put my game face on and put that act that I put on before anyway notices and I have to pretend that nothing's wrong right now or else they'll get concerned.
"Stop, Jennifer what is so interesting out there?"
"Nature," I said with a smile.
"Well, put your focus into this sectional we shall call it."
"You didn't say that, you said practice!"
"Stephen, why does it matter?"
"Sectional, practice; they're the same thing!"
"No they're not!"
"Are we really going to argue about it? Come on, let's just practice. Jennifer are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" "I'm fine!"
I know never to use the word 'fine' in any circumstance; people will think you're mad. And sometimes, people are mad or upset when they use the word fine.
"Come on Jennifer. Now I know you're lying! What's the matter Jennifer?"
"Nothing!"
"Well then, stop being that way!"
We finally got into playing. I kept sneaking out of the arch or line I should say. But Drew kept catching me, and he kept snapping his fingers telling me to join the line. We practiced a little bit of the Opener. There was a small issue with the Opener of the music, and that was that I couldn't read the music for it was in bass clef. I only know how to read treble clef, but yet I play the piano. To make matters worse, I was never taught the left hand music for the piano, and so I could only read right hand music for the piano. Which makes a little sense. Right hand music is treble clef, and left hand music is bass clef. If only I had advanced in piano lessons then I might know how to read bass clef. We continued to play up to letter C in the music, and I was following along with everyone in the music. I hated doing what I was doing so much because I know that I was letting my own section down by doing it! But I had to! I faked played during practice because I wasn't so sure about the partials. I knew I was going to play wrong notes, and then they're going to tell me what note it is, which is the same as them talking to me in a foreign language like French! I'm so doomed! From time to time, Drew walked in front of me and he looked like he was trying to hear me play. He put his ear right next to my bell, and he sort of leaned in towards me. 'Oh crap,' I thought for I knew what he was trying to do. Drew cut us off.
"Jennifer, you're the girl in this. We've got to hear you play out; don't be afraid to play."
He was speaking directly to me.
"Give me your word that you will play out by the end of the season."
I kept silent; staring helplessly into his eyes.
"Can you at least try?"
I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. I hesitated a few moments before saying; "I can't make any promises, but I can try."
"Okay, that's all that matters. I thought I heard a wrong note somewhere. Play your parts one at a time," Drew said.
I started getting a panic heart attack. My heart pounded, and I held my breath. I also had my fingers crossed hopping that he wouldn't get to me. As he got closer to me, the part started to change. The new part sounded just like my part that I had. So I watched the fingers without anyone knowing. Everyone played it correctly when he asked everyone to play it. Then he asked me to play. My heart felt like it was pounding louder, and it also felt like it was slowing down a bit. My heart dropped from my chest to my stomach. I picked up my baritone now that I have heard how my part goes, I blew into the horn and started playing. For the most part, I played nearly all the right notes, but the rhythm at the end messed me up. Drew tried breaking it down for me. I felt like an idiot! Why couldn't I read the music? "Measure by measure," he said. Then he gave me the tempo by clapping his hands together. I played the first measure, followed by the second and the last measure. That time I got it, but I wanted to just disappear. I felt kind of hopeful now that my own section leader was simply trying to help. But at the same time, I felt like an idiot. I felt like I should have known better. "You just need more confidence," Stephen said. 'They can tell it. They all can see it,' I thought to myself fearfully. "That's the one thing that I lack," I sneered.
After practice, we all warmed down and ate dinner. But I didn't bother warming down because I hardly even played. I just put my baritone away, and I went upstairs to the bedroom. I'm the only female in my section, so that means that all the other six guys have to share a bedroom. I don't know how that's going to work. They're going to need at least one HUGE bedroom to fit them all. Or maybe they're going to have bunk beds and maybe they'd all share a closet. I have no idea how it's going to work out, and I probably don't even want to know. I didn't eat dinner with everyone because they all had gravy, spaghetti and meatballs. I have an allergy, and so I decided to sneak out into the night, and find something that I could eat somewhere else. While everyone was busy eating dinner, I sneaked out from the back of the house. I grabbed my bike and then I started biking. I had my phone and wallet in my back pocket. I rode south, toward the school. Then I continued to bike down towards Indigo Rd; the most dangerous road to cross. Well, I wouldn't say that exactly. I'm sure there are more dangerous roads out there, but you get my drift. I crossed Indigo Rd, and kept going south. I was heading to the Subway in the Norman Publix. It took me half an hour just to bike to the nearest Subway which was in Norman.
Meanwhile, at the house of baritones Drew and the rest of the section was enjoying dinner. William was kind of eating dinner alone and somewhat away from everyone else but not exactly given the fact that James and Ryan was sitting with him. Drew, Brandon, and Stephen were enjoying themselves with their dinner at their tables. Mrs. Payne and her other son; Jonathan were also having a great time at their dinner table. "I wonder where Jennifer is," Drew said.
"She's probably in one of the bedrooms upstairs; do you want me to go check?"
"No, I think I'll wait until after dinner."
William finished dinner early. 'I shall find her,' he thought to himself.
"Hey James, do you want to go with me on the search for Jennifer?"
"If we have to go out to find her, I think we should go as a section."
"Good point!"
William then changed his mind.
I made it to Subway just before it was closing time. I made my order and took it out. It closed just as I was walking out. I grabbed my bike, and hopped on. I started biking back to the house of baritones. I probably didn't even make it halfway to the house of baritones because they found me on my bike on the sidewalk on Ingido Rd.
"Jennifer, what are you doing here?"
"I was getting dinner!"
"Why didn't you eat dinner with everyone else?"
"I have an allergy number one, number two I don't feel comfortable eating in front of people other than my family."
"What are you talking about, we are you're family! So quit acting weird! Get in the car!"
William was driving his pick up truck Chevy which is the same as my dad's truck. James was in the middle next to William and Ryan. Drew was in the back, next to both Stephen and Brandon. The truck was practicality full! My dad's truck can fit up to six people; that's already six people! The whole section minus me is one full truck! "How do you expect me to just fit in," I asked. "That might be a problem," James added.
"You mean to tell me you guys didn't think about this problem?"
"Well, he's the one who said that we should go as a section, so it's Drew's fault!"
"Throwing me under the bus, huh?"
"Please, don't throw anyone under the bus. I know a way to get in the truck without actually taking up any space at all."
"You're not going in the back with your bike, are you?"
"Yes, I actually am."
"WHAT," the whole section shouted at the same time.
"Don't worry, I've done it before," I reassured them as I climbed up in the back of the truck with my bike.
"William, drive carefully."
William nodded.