A Fine Line (23 page)

He looks so sad over there…

Well, I know you’ve noticed that he’s not been playing well. I’m sure the Coach had every right to pull him from starting.

It had been awhile since Lucy had felt anything remotely like remorse for her former crush, but seeing him in warm up pants and a jersey watching the field was just plain sad.

Put it out of your head until after tomorrow.

Fair enough.

By the end of the evening, the football team barely managed to squeak out a win – and an invitation to the State playoffs. Lucy and her friends were excited that their senior year looked like it could go the distance.

Less than twelve hours later, the mid-November morning dawned cool and clear. When Lucy drove up with Bronwyn, they both let out sighs of relief – the bus was already there waiting for them. Spontaneous singing of the show broke out as the drummers moved their equipment from the percussion room to the truck.

Before they boarded the bus, Henry looked over the group. He stated simply, “Let’s do this thing.”

On the ride over, as Lucy sat next to Tom, her mind started wandering and she thought about past competitions. Riding back tonight was going to be difficult and she forced herself to stop thinking about the fact that this was her last bus ride with the Line — the last time she would seriously pick up her bass drum – the last… Instead of getting all weepy, Lucy distracted herself by talking with her favorite seatmate, “I feel like I haven’t got to talk to you since Homecoming.”

Tom smiled, “Yeah, well…”

“Things going that awesome with Jewel?”

“You could say that.”

“I’m glad.”

“Anything going on with you and Wes?”

Lucy scoffed, “What would I want to do with him? He totally trashed my reputation!”

“Did he?”

Lucy let out a loud “hmph.”

Tom laughed and said, “I’m just saying, Luce, that one weekend I’ve never seen you so happy.”

Lucy made excuses for herself, “Come on. We were second for Sweepstakes? Won the High Percussion caption? Can’t a girl be happy because her band won?”

Tom rolled his eyes and put his hands behind his head, “Yeah, sure, that was the reason.”

“Anyway, even if I did want something with him,” Lucy looked out the window, “It’s too late now.”

Less than an hour later, as always, the individual performers went first. Lucy looked over at Bronwyn during the snare drumming portion of the competition. The redhead’s eyes were glazed over and locked in on the hands and sticking of each competitor.

Lucy leaned over and whispered, “You could do that.”

Bronwyn didn’t say anything; she simply nodded. Lucy smiled at the look of determination in the younger girl’s eyes.

Two hours and a change of clothing later, it was time for one of the last concentrated warm ups Lucy would ever take part in. Over the past four years, she had moved from behind the keyboards to the court and was proud to be a member of the Battery. She had started as an oboe player who was going to try drumming for a season and had morphed into a bass Lieutenant who couldn’t imagine her life without percussion. After a slow and steady warm up, Henry nodded at each section to break.

The basses gathered. Lucy looked at her section, “Alright guys, it’s like Henry said, ‘let’s do this thing.’ I want to extend the best bass trophy win to two years.”

They all nodded.

Using the click plates on her rim, Lucy tapped out counts to start the show, “From the top – let’s run it one last time!”

As the Forrest Hills HS drumline stepped on the modified basketball court for Preliminary competition, Lucy felt chills go up her arms. The seventeen-year-old senior took a mental snapshot of opening set. In a blink, the show was over. The drummers walked off the court, with appropriate cocky statures. Their show had rocked. After Henry flashed them a big thumbs up, they were on their own for the next half hour until Prelim and Individual scores were announced. Lucy and Molly talked Bronwyn into wearing her flapper dress for the rest of the day.

Molly smiled, “Believe me, wearing a dress, especially this dress at a drumline competition is definitely a good thing.”

Bronwyn tilted her head, “Why exactly?”

Lucy stepped forward and said, “Watch and learn.”

Bass Lieutenant Lucy Karate took a deep breath and casually walked past a group of drummers from a smaller school. Bronwyn and Molly had to hold in laughter as the guys blatantly checked out their friend.

Molly said between giggles, “Wait for it…”

The whispers made their way down the hall.

“She’s the bass drummer for Forrest Hills…”

“Did you hear them at Prelims? They were awesome! I couldn’t believe what they were playing.”

“I would give anything to be one of the dudes on that Line…”

Bronwyn looked wide-eyed at Molly, “So, they respect you
and
your drumming?”

Lucy had come back around the hall, “They certainly do. Plus, for us, it’s like this whole day of cute guys,” she added, “and who knows who might show up from our school.”

Bronwyn flushed and was suddenly made even more nervous that Drew might decide to come to the competition. She told the two older girls, “I’ll be right back.”

Lucy and Molly watched the freshman walk down the hall.

Molly smiled as the same guys checked out the oblivious Bronwyn when she walked by them. She asked, “Do you think we did okay with her?”

Lucy considered a moment, “We’ve taught her all we can, from here, it’s all up to Bronwyn.”

Molly linked arms with Lucy and said, “She’ll make us proud.”

Lucy looked in the direction Bronwyn had walked, “I was thinking the exact same thing.”

Prelims scores revealed what the crowd already seemed to know, Forrest Hills High School had the best show. It had all the elements to lead up to a winning performance – precise and snappy drill, songs the crowd could recognize and get into, killer licks, and, a reputation of outstanding drumming. As the time for Finals approached, a crowd started trickling into the gymnasium. A predominantly Forrest Hills crowd. Friends from all different sections were there, including both drum majors, plus girlfriends, parents, and siblings. As the Line stood as a group to walk out for their last warm up, Lucy even thought she glimpsed Mr. Izzo.

Like a good Indoor warm up, this one was well attended by those Lines who were not going to Finals. Some stared in awe, others stared bitterly, some had a look of respect, but the Forrest Hills percussionists weren’t aware of those looking on. They were concentrating on Henry and, for the seniors at least, the last warm up that counted. The Forrest Hills Instructor looked around and saw the concentrated stares of the Line glaring back at him.

This won’t do…

Henry snapped his fingers and said, “Gather up. I’ve got an idea.”

“Now taking the court for competition, under the instruction of Henry Roberts, the Forrest Hills High School drumline.”

Lucy looked across the court nervously at Tom, but with a quick wink from her friend, her fears subsided.

We can do this…

The show began – starting out strong and then moved into the Front Ensemble feature… Per Henry’s instruction and the urging of the senior class, Tom and Lucy put down their instruments, found a spot near the Pit and began freestyle swing dancing – letting the music decide their choreography. It took a moment for the crowd to realize that Quint 1 and Bass 2 were actually dancing on the court, but they soon got into it. The Pit feature ended with a flourish and Tom dipping Lucy dramatically. The crowd stomped and cheered. The pair went over to throw their drums on and get back in set before they really brought the heat. The finale of the show started with quiet ‘duts’ from Billy and didn’t let up until there was a standing ovation from the crowded gym.

“I didn’t think they’d actually go for it,” Lucy commented to Henry as the first place Forrest Hills drumline finally made their way out of the school.

“Why not?”

“Well, I thought for sure they’d see through us, that we had added it last minute.”

Henry shrugged his shoulders, “I think they rewarded us for it. Drumming is nothing if not spontaneous and if anything defines this particular class, you guys deserved something different. I hoped I’d be able to leave you with some unique memories.”

Lucy smiled and clutched her best bass trophy a little closer, “I guess I have, but what made you think of doing that?”

Henry looked over the Line, “You seniors just looked so…intimidating. I wanted your last competition to be more fun than that.”

“Thanks, Henry. It definitely was.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Bronwyn couldn’t stop smiling. Winning at an Indoor competition was the best feeling she had ever had. Everyone in the Line was caught up in it, so the redhead shouldn’t have been surprised when Tony appeared next to her and said, “Great job out there tonight, Flueger.”

Bronwyn warmed at the compliment, and at the way Tony was appreciatively looking at her dress, “Thanks, Clarke.”

Tony’s yellow green eyes looked over at the seniors who were being ridiculously silly with each other, “Think that will be us one day?”

Bronwyn looked at Tom and Lucy and how friendly they were. The thought of her and Tony acting like that was saying that pigs might fly, but she didn’t want to ruin this rare moment of agreement between them. Bronwyn responded honestly, “I think the next three years are going to hold a lot of surprises for us.”

When all the crazy pictures had been taken, it was finally time for the Forrest Hills drumline to go home. On the bus, as was tradition; the seniors began recounting their favorite memories from the past four years. When it was Lucy’s turn, she suddenly found her bottom lip quavering. She had expected to be sad, but not now, in front of everyone. She couldn’t help the tears that escaped her eyes. It was simply too much emotion for one evening. Tom grasped her hand in his and held it tightly. She said softly, “You guys made me who I am.” Then, she started giggling until it was an all out guffaw and finally managed to squeak out, “Two words: Banana Vibe!”

The seniors simultaneously began laughing hysterically with the underclassmen giving them weird looks, while Tom recounted one of their more infamous stories. After a long night, many tales (some real, others embellished to the point of becoming unrecognizable), and lots of scattered smothered and covered hash browns later, it was finally time to say goodbye. Most of the senior percussionists, friends and supporters, had stayed out way too late. It didn’t matter. For Lucy, it was easily one of the best nights of her life and a fitting end to her career as a member of the competitive Line.

* * *

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: Truths

On Monday, the Line took their first real day off of the season. Kicking back and propping their feet up on chairs and stands, the percussionists listened to the judge’s tapes, unable to get enough of their Indoor show. The moment when Lucy and Tom started dancing caught each judge by surprise and every time it did, the Line went into gales of laughter at the sputtering judicial reviews:

“Okay…like what you’re doing with this part Vibes…wait…what’s this? Uh….what?!”

“…really bring out the phrasing…what in the hell?!”

The last judge was the best. He was clearly of an older generation, “…Great Cesar’s Ghost! You have drummers that are dancing!”

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Mark commented sarcastically.

Billy decided by the end of the season he would whip up a cadence entitled “The Ghost” in honor of the judge. With the time left over in class, the latest trophies were polished and added to the percussion room standing as proof of the legacy and talent of Lucy and her classmates.

Those can’t ever be taken away…we earned them.

Lucy was glad she brought her camera, and, when no one was looking, she snapped a picture of the collected trophies. She had a feeling that some time in her life she might need a reminder of her former drumline self, and this picture would go a long way. With that, the bell rang and slowly the percussionists dispersed into the halls, once again regular high school students…

At the last regular season home game, the stands that Friday night had a completely different feel for the drummers. Lucy decided to be a completely benevolent upperclassman and loaned her bass to Bronwyn for the entire game. She patted the redhead on the shoulder saying, “You better get used to playing in the stands.”

With that, Lucy joined Molly near Billy and used the game to completely boogie to the awesome sounds of the stands music.

After the game, as the band members were exiting school, Lucy saw Mandy and Gina’s eyes widen. Mandy whispered loudly, “Don’t look now, but it looks like a football player wants to talk to you.”

For the briefest moment, Lucy heart started beating wildly in hopes that it might be Wes, but then quickly tossed the thought aside. He had made it abundantly clear that he wanted nothing to do with her.