Keeping in Line

by Courtney Brandt

  “About that…”

  “Yes?”

  “Well, similar to the Hollaback scheme, I may or may not have had something to do with that whole situation.”

  “People don’t give you enough credit, do they?”

  “You have no idea.”

  “And here I thought you were just another pretty face.”

  Bronwyn blushed and replied, “After a season surrounded by guys, you would think I might have picked up a thing or two.”

  Drew joined the pair and asked, “What are you two talking about?”

  “Nothing,” came the automatic reply from both.

  However nice it was to be someone’s girlfriend, it was terrifying to be someone’s worst enemy. As Bronwyn had predicted, Christina had not taken well to Drew’s instant action to ‘see other people.’ Unfortunately, after showing up alone to Homecoming and the subsequent and obvious relationship between Drew and Bronwyn, the rumors surrounding the Guard Captain had not been kind.

  “I heard she’s been paying him this whole time…”

  “I heard Bronwyn and Drew have been secretly dating since August…”

  “I heard that Drew completely stood her up…”

  With all of her concentration on learning the Indoor show, Bronwyn didn’t have any extra energy to worry about waiting for the other shoe to drop. She could only hope Christina didn’t find out the truth of where Drew had been on Homecoming evening until some time much later, and that maybe, just maybe, the Guard Captain would move on and find someone else to make her happy.

  Unfortunately, luck was not on Bronwyn’s side. Dana, who had heard from Tony about whose company Bronwyn had been in on Saturday night, told her Captain the bad news at practice. She finished by asking, “So, what are you going to do about it?”

  Christina, momentarily distraught, fought back tears of rage and humiliation. Then, as a brilliant plan occurred to her, she asked the sophomore conversationally, “You don’t really like Tony, do you?”

  As much as she wanted to spend all available time with her new boyfriend, Bronwyn’s budding romance with Drew was put on a temporary hiatus. At this moment, practicing and devoting all available energy to the Indoor show was more important. She had to be content to see him before school as the Line was practicing after school every day for the next two weeks and the majority of weekends as well.

  At the Thursday practice before the first Indoor competition, as was now tradition, the rest of the band was invited to watch their percussionists’ show. Bronwyn was so proud of the Line and intent on her performance that she didn’t notice Christina and Dana watching with way more interest than two Guard girls should have regarding the drummers’ drill.

  After Friday’s game, Drew drove Bronwyn home. She asked tentatively, “I thought Christina handled things very well this week, didn’t you?”

  Drew laughed, but said, “With the exception of the frosty stares and silent treatment I’ve been getting from her, I’d actually agree with you.”

  “Well, this may sound immature, but I really expected some sort of retribution and so far, so good. I have to give her props for acting like an adult.”

  Drew nodded and pulled into the driveway. He asked, “So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

  “You really don’t have to come up—”

  “I want to support my girlfriend tomorrow,” he interrupted.

  Bronwyn still got a secret thrill when Drew called her his girlfriend. She replied, “Okay, I’ll look for you after Prelims.”

  Drew grinned and leaned in for a good night kiss that took all thoughts of percussion and ex-girlfriends far away.

  The following morning, Bronwyn tried to control her excitement for the Indoor competition – her first as a member of the Battery. There had been a large debate over what their uniforms would be this year. In the end, they had decided on Mars, and creatively filled in the large spectrum of the color red.

  Bronwyn had personally opted for red patent leather pants that were a) totally awesome and b) she could only get away with wearing on the court. Her shirt was a black tank top with flames at the bottom. J.D. had splurged for the group and bought everyone on the snare line flame wristbands. The rest of the snares were literally in head to toe red and flames. Adam had found flame emblazoned Chuck Taylors online and ordered a pair for everyone (including Henry). With the addition of some dramatic make up and temporary hair color, they were an intense group.

  The Line did not have as many individual competitors as the previous year, with only J.D. entering himself into the snare solo category. Bronwyn eagerly watched her Captain and the other competitors. She was planning on entering a solo she was working on next year and took mental notes about what worked and what did not. After the mandatory support of their Captain, the Forrest Hills drummers worked out their nerves and spent the afternoon working through parts of the show. Bronwyn was legitimately surprised everything had come together so smoothly. After such a disastrous season on the field, it had been a happy turn to have an Indoor show that clicked. After some tuning, and a tight warm up, the Line was pumped to go in and kick some serious ass.

  “And now, Forrest Hills High School is prepared to present their show, The Planets, for competition. Drummers, are you ready?”

  J.D. cracked off the familiar Mars refrain, and saluted with his sticks.

  “You may begin.”

  The show started, moving seamlessly through selections from Holst’s famous work. During the Pit feature, she looked into the audience and made eye contact with Drew, who, she was happy to see had made it up for the Prelims. He smiled at her and flashed a quick thumbs up.

  Bronwyn concentrated on her part, and during a crossover move in the drill, dared another look up in the stands. She was shocked to see Christina practically sitting in Drew’s lap, trying, it seemed, to plant a big kiss somewhere in the vicinity of her boyfriend’s mouth. Bronwyn knew she had nothing to get jealous about; Drew was obviously struggling to get out of the embrace. However, like a car crash, she couldn’t look away from the scene that was unfolding.

  The day might have played out differently if that moment of particular drill didn’t have the snares so close to the back court line. Without meaning to, Bronwyn stepped clearly out of bounds. It was so quick and she stepped back as soon as she realized what she had done. It was at that moment that she locked eyes with a judge.

  What have I done…? Bronwyn’s heart shuddered in her chest.

  The rest of the show went smoothly – the best performance to date. As they came off the court, Bronwyn could see the looks of anticipation and excitement as the drummers walked off the court, obviously expecting high scores and a definite pass to the Finals later that evening. Bronwyn wanted to cry. There was no doubt in her mind she had stepped out of bounds. There was no doubt the judge had seen her do it. Were their scores high enough to still make it into the evening competition? As she dared one more glance at the stands, she saw a very smug grin on the face of Christina. Had the Guard member planned for this to happen?

  J.D. clapped an arm around Bronwyn and hugged her close to his larger frame, “Great job out there, B! I can’t wait for tonight! We’re going to kick ass.”

  Bronwyn cringed and couldn’t hold back her emotions any longer. Her bottom lip quivered, and she felt tears leaking out and not even pausing to take off her drum, she ran into a deserted women’s bathroom. She didn’t want to hear the results of the Prelims, knowing that she was the one solely responsible that her Line wouldn’t be moving on to Finals. Even worse, the reason was one she could have controlled! She didn’t drop a note or miss a step; she lost her concentration and walked right out of bounds. Bronwyn cried…for her seniors and her Line. Hearing someone behind her, she looked up and saw, of all people, Tony.

  “Are you done yet?”

  Bronwyn desperately wiped at her face and murmured, “Yes. Wh-what are you doing here?”

  “I saw.”

  Bronwyn wasn’t shocked. The dril
l had Tony far enough back from her that he could’ve seen her misstep, “Did you tell J.D.?”

  “No. I knew it was coming.”

  Bronwyn’s eyes widened she asked very slowly, “What do you mean, ‘you knew?’”

  “Dana asked me after practice on Tuesday about all the rules of Indoor. I thought she was just being a good girlfriend.” He continued bitterly, “She saw how close the snares got to the edge of the court on Thursday.”

  “She was getting information for Christina?”

  “Exactly. I didn’t realize what was going to happen until we walked on the court and I saw Christina in the stands. By then it was too late.”

  Tony and Bronwyn sat in the empty women’s bathroom. Bronwyn sighed, “It will be on all the tapes and the video. J.D. is going to kill me.”

  “There’s always next week.”

  “But—” Bronwyn was still upset.

  “Look, I’m breaking things off with Dana. I’m beginning to think she only dated me as some sort of weird way to get on the Line.”

  Bronwyn was surprised to hear actual regret in Tony’s voice. Her section mate continued, “Let’s talk to J.D.”

  “You’d help me out?”

  “Sophomore snares have to stick together, don’t they?”

  Bronwyn gave her former enemy a half-smile.

  After Bronwyn found a safe place for Stewie, the pair found their Captain in the stands. Tony was about to speak, but Bronwyn shook her head and said, “J.D., I have to talk to you.”

  “Right this second?”

  Bronwyn nodded. J.D., seeing Tony behind her and Bronwyn’s tear stained face, said slowly, “Okay.”

  They walked out into the cool night, and stopped near the equipment truck. Bronwyn took a deep breath and admitted, “I stepped out of bounds.”

  “You did what?!”

  Tony stepped in front of Bronwyn and said, “But it wasn’t her fault.”

  “Let me get this straight, did someone make you step out of bounds?” J.D. sputtered.

  Bronwyn was fully prepared to take the blame of the situation herself. She shook her head and answered sadly, “No.”

  Tony shook his head and replied angrily, “Yes.”

  Both heads turned to look at Tony. J.D. scowled and asked, “What do you mean?”

  “Bronwyn was set up. Christina distracted her. She knew exactly when Bronwyn was near the back line and she made her move then.”

  “I’m supposed to believe we won’t be going to Finals all because of some Guard chick?”

  “She was sitting on my boyfriend’s lap, trying to suck his face off. I’m sorry that distracted me. I wasn’t expecting to see it.”

  Suddenly, Drew came running around the corner, “Bronwyn!”

  All three percussionists looked at the drum major. Drew didn’t seem to care that J.D. and Tony were there and began apologizing, “You have to believe me! She came out of nowhere, she was like a vampire!”

  Bronwyn smiled shyly and said, “I know, I saw the whole thing.”

  J.D. and Drew looked at each other. J.D. said, eyes narrowed, “I seem to recall you were going to have nothing to do with our Line, Drew.”

  Drew said proudly, “I’m not here as a drum major, J.D. I’m here as someone’s boyfriend.”

  J.D. took a moment before he finally responded, “Thanks for coming out and supporting the Line.”

  “I wouldn’t miss it for anything.”

  J.D. put his fingers on his temples as he looked back at the sophomores, “So, let me get this straight. Christina makes a move on your man, you get distracted, and take a step outside the line?”

  Bronwyn nodded. Tony added, “But she knew when to make the move.”

  “How does some chick know about our drill? They only saw the show two days ago…”

  Bronwyn sprang to Tony’s rescue, “He was being used by Dana.”

  J.D. looked skeptical and commented, “That’s a lot of conspiracy just to get our Line knocked out of Finals.”

  Drew crossed his arms and said, “If you want someone to blame, I think you should blame me. I ditched Christina at Homecoming and instead of getting back at me, she chose to take out her aggression on Bronwyn instead. If I had just admitted my feelings for Bronwyn a month ago, then you would all be able to compete.”

  Suddenly, the awkward quartet was joined by the rest of the Line. Lance looked miserable as he announced, “We didn’t make Finals.”

  * * *

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE: Battery Operated

  Bronwyn looked around at the disappointed faces and felt even worse – without making the final competition, there was no chance at captions or section trophies. The redhead was expecting her Captain to make a big scene and point fingers strongly in her direction and that she would end up walking back to Forrest Hills. Somehow, inexplicably, and out of character, J.D. remained perfectly calm. He addressed the group, “That really sucks, but we’ll have to wait and see what the tapes say on Monday.”

  Drew and Bronwyn shared an incredulous look, and then Bronwyn looked over at J.D., mouthing the words, ‘thank you.’

  Henry spoke up, “Let’s all head back inside. We’re going to want to watch the Lines that made Finals, so we can be ready for next week.”

  Drew and Bronwyn walked together slowly and Bronwyn leaned on Drew’s shoulder. Wrapping a strong arm around her, he said, “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “I really should’ve said something a month ago. I feel like you wouldn’t be in this situation if I had just admitted that, I, um, that I liked you.”

  “That’s okay. I’m just glad you didn’t go to Homecoming with Christina. I’m not sure if I would’ve been able to get over that.”

  Suddenly, Bronwyn giggled. Drew looked down at her and asked, “What’s up?”

  Bronwyn burst into uncontrollable laughter and trying to catch her breath, said, “She was really going to suck your face off.”

  “Hey now! That’s not funny. You weren’t on the other side of that!”

  Reluctantly breaking contact with her boyfriend she said, “Well, I have to catch up with the rest of the Line. I’ll see you on Monday?”

  Drew gave her a lengthy kiss good night, ending it and murmuring in her hair, “It’s not your fault. You did a great job tonight.”

  Bronwyn smiled and went in search of Henry, who she found inside at the concession stands. Dreading his response, she gathered what courage she had and calmly walked over to his side. Henry took a bite of his hot dog, chewed slowly, and said, “I saw.”

  Bronwyn was devastated all over again and apologized, “I’m so sorry.”

  Henry finished his food, swallowed, and replied, “Not so fast. I also saw what was going on in the stands.”

  “It’s no excuse—”

  “Bronwyn, please don’t feel that way. It’s okay for you to have a life outside of drumming. Seriously, I know being a percussionist is awesome, but you have to have balance in your life. I mean, you’re only in high school and when you graduate you want to look back and have more than just memories of the Line.”

  “Still…”

  “Believe me. Plus, we still have another week.”

  “But I—”

  “Just say ‘I’m sorry Henry, and it will never happen again.’”

  “I’m sorry Henry and it will never happen again,” Bronwyn announced solemnly.

  The tapes on Monday revealed exactly what Bronwyn was terrified they would.

  “…watch it snare…watch it!” These words were followed by an audible sigh on the tape, and the judge continued, “Sorry, Forrest Hills drumline, but it looks like one of your percussionists stepped out of bounds. Per the rules of the competition, I’m going to have to deduct points.”

  The judge immediately went onto his next comment, but everyone in the Line looked at the snares. Bronwyn was slowly standing up, ready to take full responsibility for her actions, when J.D. looked sharply at her and she sat down. He paused the
tape and addressed the percussionists, “Look, after we listen to the tapes, we’re going to watch the video, and you’re going to see who it was. Now, I know I wouldn’t have said this earlier in the season, but it could’ve been any one of us and we’re not going to win as a Line by putting all the blame on one person.”

  The drummers remained silent.

  “We have one chance left, and I’d like to focus on that, rather than getting angry or punishing who it was. I know this person feels terrible about what happened, but it wasn’t her fault.” J.D. cringed at his pronoun slip.

  With everyone’s eyes instantly on her, Bronwyn stood up calmly and said, “Thanks J.D., I appreciate, well, I never thought I’d say this, but thanks for understanding.”

  J.D. looked at the ground before he looked up and said, “Look, I’m not too proud of how I handled myself early this season, Bronwyn. I thought if I was harder on you than anyone else, that, well I’m not sure. Anyway, the fact that you came to me and admitted your mistake says a lot about you. You could’ve tried to hide the fact or denied that it ever happened, but you didn’t.”

  “It wouldn’t prove anything,” she admitted, and looked at the rest of the Line, “Seriously, this season is nothing like I thought it was going to be. I thought…well, it doesn’t matter what I thought, but here we are and I can’t undo my misstep. I can’t give the seniors back their chance to win the competition, I can’t let you all go to Finals. Believe me, if I could, I would. What I can do is promise that it won’t happen again. I hope you can accept my apology.”

  The room was quiet again and Bronwyn wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. She had visions of getting thrown out of the room, or a lifetime of physical punishments. Therefore, she was happily surprised when Tony said, “Like J.D. said, it could’ve happened to any of us, now, are we going to listen to the next tape, or what?”