The Line

by Courtney Brandt

  “I will. I’ll try and introduce you two tomorrow. See you then?”

  “I’ll be the one in the South Washington drumline jacket.”

  Lucy hung up the phone and heard someone walking up behind her. Taking a deep breath, Lucy turned around, surprised to find Jerm behind her, with an equally odd look on his face. Jerm, she had to admit, cleaned up nicely in his traditional post-game “uniform:” well worn dark blue jeans, a fitted white t-shirt and one of his crazy belt buckles.

  “Come on Lucy, let’s take a walk.”

  Lucy looked at Jerm strangely, but nodded. They began walking through the parking lot down to the stadium. It was a nice night; the team had won, summer had finally given way to fall and there was a briskness in the evening air. Given the range of events in the past week, Lucy was glad for the quiet time – with each step the anger and resentment she was feeling towards Jerm seemed to dissipate. She couldn’t tell, but she thought Jerm might be calming down as well. They walked all the way down to the field, which was still brightly lit by the large lights. The empty stadium was a stark contrast to earlier in the evening. The awkward pair stood overlooking the field when Jerm finally broke the silence.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you, Lucy Karate.”

  Lucy thought a moment before answering. She commented, “She must have been really special.”

  “I—this isn’t about—shit—yeah, she really was and I thought he was my friend.”

  “Do you think I don’t know what that feels like?”

  Jerm was unresponsive.

  “Look at who you’re dating right now, Jerm. Mandy. Did you even once, for a second, consider dating me?”

  Jerm gave the female percussionist a strange look.

  Lucy rolled her eyes and continued, “It was a hypothetical question, Jerm, but put yourself in my shoes. I have two beautiful friends and for the better part of our friendship have had to watch as they constantly dated the guys I liked. But I didn’t hold it against them. Well, I tried not to hold it against them; sometimes it was really difficult. Eventually, I would try and come to terms with the fact they were a better couple than he and I ever would’ve been. So, I know exactly where you’ve been, but I got past it a long time ago.”

  “Yeah, I dig.”

  “So then, maybe you can let go of this grudge against Sam…and me?”

  “Maybe, but I can’t let the bass line go unpunished.”

  “I know, but that was their decision, not mine.” Lucy asked, “Would you expect anything less of the snares?”

  “After your section’s stunt, I think we’re going to have a chance to test that theory.”

  “Mr. Izzo benched you?!” Lucy had to bite her lip from laughing.

  “Yes, he did,” Jerm pouted.

  Lucy tried to comfort her captain, “Doesn’t matter. Think of it this way, next week is Homecoming, and that doesn’t really count as a game anyway.”

  At the same time, the junior was trying to think of a solution that would make everyone happy. She couldn’t take back the things she had done or said, but the Line would have to work together if they were going to have a shot at Indoor or the competition tomorrow. She asked, “I can’t go above Lance’s position, but what if we offer to clean all the drums?”

  “Including polishing the cymbals?”

  “Especially polishing the cymbals – it’s the least I can do for Nevada.”

  “Fair enough.”

  “Just be sure to talk it over with Lance. Hopefully the two of you can kiss and make up.”

  “Okay,” Jerm grumbled.

  Lucy shivered slightly and asked, “Can we head back now? I’m sure you’re going to have some explaining to do at Waffle House.”

  “Yeah.”

  They started walking back to the now deserted parking lot. Lucy asked, “Hey Jerm?”

  “Yes?” There was a slightly exasperated tone in his voice.

  “I think Sam is ready to talk whenever you’re ready.”

  Jerm didn’t say anything, but Lucy didn’t expect him to – there was only so far you could push a teenage boy in one evening. Jerm turned to Lucy when they had reached his car and looked like he wanted to say something, but extended his hand instead. Awkwardly, Lucy shook it.

  “Night, Lucy.”

  * * *

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN: ANY GIVEN SATURDAY

  Arriving home, Lucy was far too wired to think about sleeping. After saying hello to Pam and changing into her comfiest set of flannel pants and a tank top, she quickly signed online. It had been entirely too long since she had talked to Cartwright213. Lucy chewed on a pen as she waited to see if he was on. She missed their easy talk and banter, as well as his much needed insight into her love life! Lucy was bummed when she didn’t see his name pop up in her buddy list and dawdled around. She was about to sign off and to get some much-needed sleep when Cartwright213 popped up. Lucy instantly began typing.

  bassgirl17: Howdy stranger!

  Cartwright213: (yawn)

  bassgirl17: Where have you been young man? Isn’t it past your bedtime?

  Cartwright213: Can’t a guy have a life?

  bassgirl17: Fine, fine. Listen, do you have a minute? I could really use some advice.

  Cartwright213: Umm, yeah, go ahead.

  Lucy looked at the screen, noting something was off in her online buddy’s voice. Lucy looked at the clock on her computer…it was after 1AM, maybe that was the reason. Realizing she had to be up in a few hours to head out to the competition, Lucy decided to let it go.

  bassgirl17: Well, never mind. It can wait. I know it’s late.

  Cartwright213: K.

  Lucy signed off quickly, a little hurt. On the other side of the computer Cartwright213 sighed deeply as he saw bassgirl17 sign off without saying anything else to him, this was not how he wanted things to go. He stared at his computer screen, wishing he’d had the guts to tell her who he really was, but knew his identity would only further complicate her already complicated life.

  Lucy dragged herself out of bed in the morning, showered quickly, and made one side trip on her way to the school. She cautiously crept into the band room, looking around for a friendly face and was a bit surprised there were not a lot to be found. The marching Flyers had definitely noticed the missing section last night. Although it had been amusing at the game, the seniors realized it could affect the outcome of the competition today. Lucy tried to offer a smile to some of the upperclassmen, even though internally she was seething, then scooted into the percussion room.

  Jerm was already present and apparently had spread the word things were cool again on the Forrest Hills drumline. Lucy smiled to herself noting this behavior was the great difference between guys and girls. There would be no lingering, bitchy feelings going on. Lucy also knew that sometimes refined sugar could go a long way towards an apology. The bass drummer dragged her bass drum case out, and placed the four dozen still warm Krispy Kreme donuts on top of it, telling the group, “Hey guys, come and get it! Drummers need sugar to survive, or hadn’t you heard?”

  The collected percussionists dove into the green and white boxes while Lucy shared a wink over the boxes with Jerm and grabbed one of the sugary donuts and went in search of Nevada. She caught him coming into the school and tried her best to remain pleasant. Thrusting the donut in his face, she asked, “Peace offering?”

  Nevada shrugged and continued walking, “Too soon, Luce.”

  Molly came around the corner to see Lucy lamely holding a donut and staring at the delicious smelling confection with entirely too much intensity. The Pit player asked, “Something wrong, Luce?”

  “He didn’t want my donut.”

  Molly didn’t have to ask who “he” was and replied, “You kind of broke his heart. I think I can understand why he doesn’t want your donut.”

  “There’s no way I broke his heart. He’s Nevada, demi-god of the Forrest Hills drumline. Breaker of hearts across the marching Flyers. I don’t think I h
ad any real impact on his life.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure about that.”

  “Really?”

  Molly linked her arm through Lucy’s as they began walking back to the band room, “You didn’t see yourself the way we did. He was definitely a smitten kitten.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, and trust me, I don’t think you’ve heard the last from him. He doesn’t strike me as the type to go down or give up without a fight.”

  The girls collected their bags and uniforms, and boarded the drumline bus. Lucy reverted to her old seatmate and sat with Tom, glad for his comforting (and non-judgmental) presence. Finally arriving at the competition, Lucy watched as the drumline quickly dispersed throughout the campus of the large high school that was hosting the event. The junior was moping along when someone came up behind her and whispered in her ear, “Hey there, bass girl.”

  Lucy tried to ignore, again, the goosebumps that went down her arms in Sam’s presence. She turned around and looked at her boyfriend. With the exception of their vividly opposing drumline jackets, they made a pretty cute couple. Lucy was wearing low-rise, slightly flared jeans with her drumline shirt and jacket. Sam was wearing well-worn khaki cords, a fitted white t-shirt, and his drumline jacket. This was the first time they had been “in public” together in front of their respective bands and that made Lucy and Sam something of a celebrity couple. The rumors had been flying through both marching bands.

  Lucy thought it would be weird, but more than anything, she found herself very relaxed and was glad she didn’t have to hiding things any longer. Sam bent down and kissed the top of Lucy’s head and murmured, “A lot can change in a week.”

  “Amen,” Lucy replied.

  “Is there anyone you want to avoid?”

  “You know what? No. I want to be with my boyfriend and I don’t care who that pisses off. What about you?”

  “Sounds good to me. I guess the real question is, whose band are we going to sit with?”

  Lucy scrunched up her nose and answered, “Not sure. Let’s just walk around and see who comes to us.”

  The couple held hands and walked through the various stages of the marching band competition. There were the smaller bands getting ready, already warming up for their big moment on the field. Auxiliary members were putting on copious amounts of make up and massive amounts of hair spray to complete their looks of uniformity. While they walked, Sam and Lucy passed by members of their respective bands.

  After grabbing lunch, they picked a place in the stands to sit and watch some of the performances. Lucy could see Jerm, Mandy, Nevada and the rest of the seniors at the top of the stands, while Sam noted a lot of his drumline had gathered just to the bottom of the structure. After a short time, Lucy was surprised when Fred approached them. As the FHHS drum major, he didn’t have to care too much about everyone’s opinion, but she knew it was a big gesture for him to come and sit with her.

  Lucy looked at him gratefully and then said, “Sam, I’d like to introduce you to my drum major and very good friend, Fred. Fred, this is my boyfriend and S.W.’s drumline captain, Sam.”

  The guys shook hands and Fred sat down next to them. The drum major said, “Well, Sam, I’m not going to lie to you. I had to come here and see what everyone was talking about.”

  “I trust you’ll make an appropriate report back to the band?”

  Fred nodded with mock severity and replied, “You know, she did sit out a game for you. I had to make sure you were worth it.”

  Lucy was turning red and said, “Thanks, Fred. I’m sure I’m perfectly capable of deciding that on my own.”

  “Can I join you?”

  The trio looked up and saw a girl standing behind them. Sam nodded as he recognized it was Becca, one of the drum majors from South Washington.

  “Hey Fred.”

  “Hey Becca.”

  Lucy interrupted, “You guys know each other?”

  Fred and Becca nodded, then Becca took a set with the group. She explained, “I had to see what all the commotion was about, too. I wanted to meet the girl who stole the heart of South’s most eligible bachelor.”

  Lucy smiled, liking Becca instantly. The quartet chatted until it finally came time to join their respective bands. The bass drummer had been enjoying this uninterrupted time with Sam so much that she could hardly believe most of the day had passed. She wasn’t much into PDA’s, but didn’t mind when Sam gave her a lengthy kiss goodbye.

  Breaking the embrace, she asked, “You wouldn’t be trying to keep my mind off the competition, would you, Mr. Powell?”

  “Why, whatever do you mean?”

  “Kissing a girl like that, she could end up forgetting her name and the drill to the drum solo.”

  “Well, as I said last week, may the best Line win.”

  “I’m just looking forward to next weekend. It will be a nice break, getting all dressed up and doing normal high school things.”

  “I can’t wait.”

  With one final kiss, Sam and Lucy went their separate ways to find their own drumlines. The junior strolled dreamily up to the equipment truck and began unpacking her bass drum while a certain redhead tried to ignore the content smile on the second bass’s face, wishing he could’ve been the one to put it there.

  Lucy’s Sam filled thoughts were interrupted when Henry signalled everyone to warm up. He had heard what had happened the night before and wasn't impressed with the complete lack of camaraderie and discipline. The details were still a little sketchy, but he hoped his drummers would bounce back for this performance. As a whole, the Line was intense and focused, but lacked their usual energy.

  Like the previous week, Lucy felt time moved in fast forward and before she knew it, they were marching onto the field, keeping in time to the single beat from Jerm’s snare drum. This week, Forrest Hills drew the last spot of the evening and had to wait and listen as South Washington performed. Lucy now knew what Sam and his drumline must have felt like the week before. When it came time for their drum solo, Lucy could feel the eyes of the South drummers mentally picking them apart. She knew they had nothing to fear; the drum break was clean and the drill was performed with military precision. Lucy’s head snapped up as she realized the break was over and they were already into the dance line feature. Suddenly, the entire show was over and they were marching off the field. Lucy knew they had done an excellent job, but somehow couldn’t shake the feeling but she didn’t think her Line was going to win the competition this evening. They were just lacking the spirit they usually did in performance and she was sure the judges would notice. Technically, she knew they had scored all the notes and licks, but when you compared their section to the rest of the band, there was definitely something missing.

  After what seemed like forever, the scores were finally ready. Lucy was glad she was wearing her gloves this evening, or else she would be frantically chewing her nails. The section leaders of the different bands took the field. As the announcer made his way through the smaller divisions, Lucy tried to ignore the eyes of some of her fellow band members and wondered why they couldn’t take pride in their individual version of the show? Why did they have to look for someone to blame if they didn’t receive the beloved first place trophy?

  Finally, the captions were being given away and Lucy perked up when the Percussion Ensemble caption was called. She kept hoping to herself they would win, but was not completely surprised when Forrest Hills was awarded second place. The score was very close, as it had been the week before, but this time the Forrest Hills drumline was not the victor.

  The rest of the marching Flyers looked depressed. They knew it wasn’t a good sign if the drumline did not win Best Percussion Ensemble. Therefore, much to everyone’s elated surprise, the overall Sweepstakes award went to Forrest Hills, the band went crazy in celebration! The drummers tried to act happy for their friends, knowing they had a part of the best band trophy, but it wasn’t the same when they lost best Percussion Ensemble to South
Washington.

  After a lengthy celebration on the field, the group walked back to the equipment truck. After their drums and other equipment were secured, Jerm was the last to board. The drumline captain let out an ear splitting whistle to get everyone’s attention and addressed the entire bus, “Now guys, this past week hasn’t been easy for any of us. I know a lot of you want to blame Lucy and the rest of the basses for our second place today, but I want you to blame someone else. Me.”

  Jerm let his words sink in for a moment, then continued, “I let a personal grudge affect my ability to captain this Line. I think Nevada said earlier in the season, that if we win, it should be because we are the best line – the best chops, the most difficult book. Well, you know what? We weren’t the best line tonight and the judges saw it. I’m here to say that from this point on the Forrest Hills drumline is one unit, one sound and that we’re going to seriously kick some ass come Indoor. Finally, just to show that everything is cool, I have a question to ask. Lucy, would you and Sam join me and Mandy for dinner before Homecoming next weekend?”

  All heads on the bus turned towards Lucy. Put on the spot, Lucy managed to mumble, “Umm, okay, sounds great.”

  “Perfect. From now on, it’s about being the best Line, no questions asked.”

  * * *

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN: HOMECOMING (PART I)

  Lucy spent the rest of the ride home frantically wondering how the hell she would get out of her double date with Jerm and Mandy. When she had pictured Homecoming over the past week, it was usually just she and Sam and an unbelievably romantic evening – alone. In none of her fantasies did Jeremiah Stanford appear. Given what Lucy knew about their past, she felt there were a lot of unresolved issues between the seniors and didn’t believe that a nice dinner venue was the best place to discuss their past.