A High School Band Story

Chapter 5: The July Patriots

I woke up Monday morning to sun shining through my windows. I got up and put on a pair of jean shorts and a West Point Generals shirt. I felt confident about asking some kids to play in the band. I brushed out my light brown hair and put on my red Converse and went downstairs. I waited ten minutes for Matt and Levi to get ready so we could leave.

"Are you guys ready yet?" I called upstairs.

"Just waiting for Matt!" Levi yelled back to me.

"Hold on," I heard Matt say. "I gotta comb my hair."

I rolled my eyes at him. Levi and I walked outside and he started their truck. Then Matt walked out of the house with khaki shorts on, a blue plaid shirt, and tan suede boat shoes. As Levi got in on the drivers side and I got in the middle, we made eye contact and silently agreed on something: Matt is up to something. He got in on the other side of me and shut the door. Levi and I looked at him with small smirks on our faces.

"So," I cleared my throat. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing. Can't a guy dress nice if they want to?" Matt asked me.

"Well you aren't the type of person to dress up going to school." I remarked.

"Who're you trying to impress?" Levi asked with smug look on his face.

"Just drive." Matt snapped.

"Oh, touchy subject." Levi kept taking, edging Matt on.

"Fine!" Matt threw his arms up. "There's a girl in my English class. I want to ask her to prom, so I've thought of some ideas and came up with one that I hope will wow her."

Levi and I waited for Matt's plan, but he didn't say anything. So it was my turn to pry this out of him.

"How are you gonna ask her?" I asked.

"Why do you two ask so many questions?" he replied.

We looked at him and he sighed.

"I'm just gonna ask her in the middle of class and give her this," he pulled a rose out from his backpack. "And then I'll hope she says yes."

"But," he continued. "Enough about me. Who're you asking Levi?"

"Probably Cam. I don't think she's going with anyone."

We pulled into the student parking lot and filed out of the truck. As we walked into the school, Matt and Levi went one way, and I went another.

"Good luck!" I called to Matt. He gave me a thumbs up.

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Okay, I can do this, I thought.

I walked up to Charlie and Nathan, wiping my palms on my shorts; I didn't know what I was gonna say.

"Hey Charlie, Nathan." I started.

"Hi Melody," Charlie smiled. His smile was gorgeous and it lit up his beautiful brown eyes. And his brown hair was grown out just a little bit above his eyebrows with some of it swept to the side. Wait, focus Melody, I scolded myself.

"So some friends and I are starting a band for the town talent show. We were wondering if you two would like to play?"

"What song are you playing?" Nathan asked holding his trumpet.

"Soul Man by The Blues Brothers."

"Yeah, that sounds fun." he said. Charlie agreed.

"Thanks! I'll let you guys know when we're having rehearsal."

But I still needed to find somebody to play trombone. I didn't ask any freshmen (no offense to them), so I asked our first chair upperclassman, Elle.

"Sure." she said after I got done explaining everything.

"Hey," she stopped me before I walked away. "You're Matt Lewis's sister, right?"

"Y-es," I said hesitantly. "What did he do?"

"He asked me to prom. He's really sweet."

"Thanks." I smiled. I was proud of Matt.

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"We have a whole band!" I yelled as soon as the four of us met outside.

"Yeah!" we hugged and started making plans.

"It might be easier to meet at my house so I don't have to haul my drums all over the place." Colin suggested.

We agreed on that and we would be meeting at Colin's house on Saturday.

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That Saturday came and everyone was at Colin's house. We went down into his basement and started to set up.

It looked like the basement was where he spent all of his time. There was a 24 inch, flat screen TV with a Nintendo GameCube set up under it. And next to it were at least 30 movies piled up. The walls were white, but they were covered in band posters like Queen, AC/DC, Imagine Dragons, and so many more. I also saw a drum rudiment poster and a guitar chord poster. There was a couch and a few swivel chairs and a table off to the side with a couple decks of cards on it.

But most importantly was his drum set. It was set up in a large back room behind a keyboard. It was a full drum set that was a deep red. Colin had drumsticks lying on the floor in a corner; some of them were snapped in half, others were beat up at the top.

I opened up my case and took my bass out. Colin looked in awe over my blue Fender.

"Would you like to see it?" I asked him.

"Oh, yes." he replied.

I thought most boys acted like this around old cars or hunting gear, or even girls. Not Colin. He drooled over my blue 4 string Fender bass guitar.

"Wow," he said in awe. "What a beauty." He played a couple scales and handed the bass back to me.

"I want first dibs if you ever decide to sell it." We laughed.

We finally started after everyone was set up. After about an hour of playing we stopped for a break.

"We're not too bad for just starting today." Charlie spoke up.

"No. If we could practice a few times a week for a couple hours, we will be golden." Colin said.

"Are we still deciding on a name?" Eli asked for the billionth time.

"How about Taco Bell?" Nathan suggested. Everyone stared at him. "I'm sorry! I can't think when I'm hungry."

"The July Patriots." Baylee recommended.

We looked at each other and smiled and nodded.

"And we have a winner!" Eli shouted and threw his hands up.