The Moment He Stepped Through The Door

Chapter 2

As the marching season is over, the winter season sets in fast, bringing a bleak November and an icy December. Band tryouts roll around, bringing a nonstop stress over the two weeks you have to practice. You make wind ensemble, the highest honor band, after a rocky audition, but you guess your instructor sees something in you. You develop a routine: waking up early, school, homework, instrument practice, repeat. It's much too cold to do anything else. You consider joining a club or something to pass the time, but realize you don't have the energy. You begin to lose motivation and drive as the cold begins to seem endless. Your best friend hasn't been talking to you as much now that you've developed such a slow routine. She sits with new people at lunch, and you start eating in the hallway. She told you it was weird to see you so outgoing and confident, and you became even quieter than you had been. Pep band games are fun, but they don't compare to the hype from the beginning of the year. They brighten your days a little regardless, sitting on the bleachers and feeling a taste of the belonging you prized during the marching season. You reignite your search for a new way to bid your time until the frost melts, a distraction from the infinite winter. You hear two people talking in the band room, when one, the taller of the two, mentions that tryouts are next week and the team is no cut this year. She tugs at the red sleeves of her sweater as she continues to mention that she is the captain of this show, a title you recognize but cannot place. Her eyes roll back behind her glasses as she recalls past shows and what she thinks the show will be this time. Show themes are a good sign, you think maybe it's something like marching band. Passing period begins, as low quality music blasts through the speaker. The girl and her friend leave together, but part ways after passing the doors. You follow behind them, nodding gratitude at the kid who held the door open for you. You pass a bulletin board on the way out, and notice a flier stapled on haphazardly. It stands out amongst all the other notices, securely pinned and stapled down. It claims, in all caps-

WINTER GUARD CLINICS

DECEMBER 12-14

TRYOUTS

DECEMBER 15

6:00-9:30 pm

This is what that girl must have been talking about, you decide. You connect the term captain with the color guard captains from marching season, and decide to attend the clinics. Anything to null the overwhelming loneliness that had begun to take over you as the temperature dropped, you suppose. You're desperate for a distraction and you hope, with this new little burst of energy, that winterguard will come through.