Keeping in Line (13 page)

“Flueger?” J.D. snarled and got her attention. It was then she realized she was the only person still playing.

“Sorry.”

Her Captain gave her a stern look and then said, “Let’s start again with the bass break.”

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: Visit?

B,

Sorry to hear things didn’t go according to plan…but sometimes life just works out differently than we want it to. Did Wes and I plan to stay together even though we are living thousands of miles apart? Yes. Did I know I was going to meet someone new? No. Okay, sorry to digress from your problems, but I’m kind of a weird place here and trying to sort things out.

So, hopefully, you can just put your drum on and put all this behind you. Chalk it up to a life lesson and move forward. Who knows? Sometimes the guy and girl do get together in the end. Keep your fingers crossed, keep playing a clean show, and I’m sure everything will turn out okay.

Luce

P.S. I think I mentioned I have fall break in late October. Maybe you can come up then? It would be great to see you – and I still need to get back to Forrest Hills to see you march a game
!

Bronwyn woke up the following morning completely unmotivated. Usually she looked forward to any day she got to wear her drum, and especially days when she got to see Drew, but today she felt anything but excited. To make things worse, she had spent most of the previous evening looking through her freshman yearbook scanning for pictures of Christina, the Guard Captain. It seemed Christina was everything Bronwyn was not. Christina was a beautiful brunette with stunning locks like a Pantene commercial, long legs and was an amazingly talented dancer. She had been on the Homecoming court for the junior class last year. Even though she knew she didn’t have a future with Drew, seeing her ‘competition’ had definitely not made Bronwyn feel any better. She had called Megan and Meredith to see if they could confirm Tony’s rumor, which, unfortunately they could. No less than five members of the Flyers marching band had seen the duo together. Reports ranged from “cute couple” to “just friends.”

Fortunately, the educational portion of her day passed quickly and before long Bronwyn was grabbing Stewie to head down to the practice field. The sophomore was pleasantly surprised when Ben decided to join her. They both walked while leaning back to relieve some of the pressure of the weight of their drums.

Bronwyn said, “I wonder if I’ll ever go back to walking normally.”

“Not likely.”

Bronwyn looked over at Ben’s seemingly massive tenor drums, which she had never really worn before and asked, “Want to switch?”

Knowing most people had a weird obsession with ‘trying on’ other instruments, Ben shrugged and took off his quints. Usually instrument switching only went on in the stands, but if anyone wanted to carry the heavy tenors down to the field, he was all for it. The sophomore almost collapsed when she put on the weighty quints.

“How do you carry these things?!”

“Why am I not playing snare?” Ben said at the same time.

They looked at each other and laughed. Ben looked normal with the snare, but the quints looked ridiculous on Bronwyn’s petite frame.

“Want to switch back?”

Bronwyn shook her head, “Nah, it’ll make me appreciate Stewie that much more when I get him back.”

“You named your drum?”

“Uh, yes. Doesn’t everyone?”

“Uh, no.”

Wanting to change the topic, Bronwyn asked, “So, Ben?”

“Yeah?”

Bronwyn wasn’t exactly sure how to proceed next. She had Ben’s attention and by now it was pretty easy to talk to him. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, she queried, “Are you seeing anyone right now?”

Ben looked at her weirdly, “Not really, why?”

She stated hesitantly, “Umm, I know someone that likes you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, do you know my friend Meredith?”

Ben hesitated a moment before saying, “On flute?”

Bronwyn knew the pause was intentional. He had noticed her friend. She nudged him, “So you do know her?”

Ben tried not to look embarrassed, “I’m glad we’re talking about Meredith. For a minute there, I thought you were talking about yourself.”

Something about that statement struck Bronwyn as the funniest thing she had ever heard. She burst into hysterical laughter while other band members looked at her strangely.

Drew looked up to see classmates coming down to practice. He wished he had not chosen that exact moment to look up. Seeing Bronwyn flirt with that guy on quints irritated him on a level he didn’t think was possible.

What is she wearing?

Those would be quints my friend, Ben’s quints.

Did the other night mean nothing to her?

Hearing Bronwyn’s happy laughter peal across the parking lot caused him to grimace. He felt himself clenching a fist, which was very weird considering he classified himself as a non-violent person. He was still staring at the pair when he felt someone at his side.

“Hey there, handsome.” Christina smiled at him.

Drew looked over at the beautiful brunette next to him and felt a flash of guilt. The only reason he had called her over the weekend was that he knew she had a long running crush on him and probably wouldn’t care about his current reputation. The senior tried to force thoughts of the redheaded snare out of his head.

“Hey yourself,” Drew finally responded.

He could tell Christina was probably wondering if he was going to ask her out again, and Drew really wasn’t sure what the answer to that question was. They had shared a nice evening together on Saturday, but it lacked the magic that his trampoline date with Bronwyn had. Drew’s blue eyes flicked to the far side of the field where Bronwyn was still (!) talking to Ben.

Obviously she didn’t waste any time…

He asked Christina, “Do you want to go out after the game on Friday?”

A blush broke out over her pretty features and she answered, “I’d love to.”

“Great, I’ll talk to you at practice on Thursday.”

“Sounds great. I’ll talk to you soon.”

Drew watched as she walked away, doubt filling his mind.

Obviously he didn’t waste any time…

Bronwyn’s eyes narrowed on the female figure leaving Drew’s side. On the inside, a small part of her was dying, but she was determined to continue talking normally with Ben. She forced her gaze from Drew, and returned her attention to the quint player, “So, you want me to talk to her?”

Ben rolled his eyes, “Hello, B, this is not 4th grade. I am perfectly capable of talking to a girl by myself.”

“Understood.” Bronwyn looked to see the rest of the Line pretty much assembled, “Looks like we’d better get into formation.”

Due to the odd ‘truce’ between J.D. and Drew, the band actually made progress during practice that day cleaning the ballad. Although they were still behind for the season, the show was starting to really come together. Everyone in the band seemed committed to making their performance the best it could be. During the last water break, an impromptu game of Keep-Away with a broken tenor head had started on the far side of the field, involving the Sousa and trumpet players versus the members of the Line.

“Ouch! Damn it!”

Even from across the field, it was obvious someone in pain. Listening to the stream of curse words that followed, it sounded like someone was in excruciating pain. Bronwyn thought she recognized the voice. Rushing over, she was saddened to see Kevin holding his wrist in agony. Bronwyn’s heart sank; not only was he an all around nice guy, he was also a strong member of the snare line.

J.D. was already at his side, “Are you okay?”

Kevin’s face was white with pain. He shook his head and answered grimly, “No.”

One of the band parents came over and cleared the scene, “C’mon guys, I’m a nurse. Let me get a look at that arm.”

She poked and prodded things for a minute before making a decision; “I can’t tell if it’s a break or a sprain, but either way, we’ll need to get you to the ER.”

Henry immediately volunteered, “I’ll take him.”

Bronwyn shared a look with the rest of the snares and then unconsciously felt her own arms. She couldn’t imagine an injury like that; there was no way she’d be able to play if her arm was in a cast. A bad sprain might go away, but if it was broken…

The band did a run through of the full show a few times, but the Line was obviously distracted. After practice, they lingered in the percussion room. J.D. looked around at his section and said, “I’m sure we’re all concerned about Kevin at the moment. I’ll try and get information from him tonight and we’ll discuss things tomorrow during class.”

Silently, the percussionists cleared the room. Ben and Bronwyn walked out to the car. As soon as Ben closed the door, she asked, “What happens next?”

“I have no idea. I mean, if it’s a sprain then I’m sure his doctor won’t let him march for a week or two.”

“Has there ever been an injury like this on the Line?”

Ben thought a moment, then answered, “Nah, well, I mean my freshman year, our Captain, Jerm somehow managed to do something weird to his eye. Anyway, it didn’t compromise his playing…he just looked like a modern day pirate.”

“Do you think Henry would replace Kevin?”

Ben tapped a finger on his chin, “You know, if it was any other section, maybe, but there’s already five of you who have the same part, so why would he need another?”

“Yeah, well, I think Henry wouldn’t care, but somehow I think J.D. will be pissy about only marching five snares.”

“True. I guess we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to find out.”

Bronwyn nodded, “I hope Kevin’s okay.”

Everyone hurried through lunch the next day and assembled before the final bell had rung. Bronwyn pulled out Stewie and was looking down the snare line to see if Kevin was taking his place. He wasn’t. He was, however, sitting near the Pit and his left hand was in a cast. The sophomore looked down at her own left hand. It was so pivotal for playing traditional grip. She shuddered and was reminded of how lucky she was to play each and every day. The crisp notes of a snare drum brought her true happiness and she couldn’t imagine her life without music.

With a nod from J.D., Kevin stood up and tried his best to keep a smile on his face, “Well, the bad news is, I broke my wrist. The good news is we won the game yesterday!”

His attempt at humor fell flat. No one wanted to see a member of the Line out of commission. J.D. stepped forward and addressed the group, “Now, I’ve spoken with Kevin and he is in favor of what I’m about to say. I’d like to hold auditions for Kevin’s spot on the snare line.”

There were exclamations from everyone. It was unheard of to replace someone this far into the season.

Lance asked, “Are you sure that’s really necessary? I mean, everyone already has assigned parts. If we take someone away from their original section, won’t the rest of the Line suffer?”

J.D. responded, “Look, there’s no way I’m going to go into Indoor with any less than six snares!”

Arms crossed, Jared questioned, “So, as long as the snares are fine, it doesn’t matter about the rest of us?”

The other sections nodded in agreement.

J.D. glared at the drummers, before he admitted, “Fine. We’ll hold auditions and only if we feel someone is really worth it, will they be bumped up to snare.”

Bronwyn asked curiously, “How are we going to deem who is good enough to be on snare? And who’s judging, you? Henry? The rest of your section?”

Mark responded, “Seriously. I mean you can’t expect the section leaders to audition – they are needed where they are.”

J.D. shook his head, “Listen, I’m the Captain, so show a little respect. Consider the audition piece the snare break during the drum solo. If anyone can do that, they deserve to be in the section.”

The rest of the snares shared a look and nodded; it was obvious they didn’t think anyone would be able to pull off the very difficult solo Henry had written.

Lance asked, “You sure you don’t want to run this past Henry? I bet he might have a problem with your little plan.”

“Before I was so rudely interrupted, I was also going to tell everyone that I called Henry last night. There’s been some sort of family emergency and he will be out of town for at least a week. He told me to handle things the way I saw fit. This is the way I see them. Auditions are during class on Monday. Consider yourselves warned.”

Bronwyn idly wondered if anyone would actually audition. The snares had been working through the difficult solo for weeks to get it clean.

* * *