Holland Road | Mumford & Sons Fan Fiction

Chapter 5

xChapter 5x

Thursday, January 16, 2003

2:01 P.M.

King's College School, Mr. Pearson's Jazz Band

"Lovett, can I get a B flat?" Mr. Pearson asks while flipping through his filing cabinet full of sheet music.

Ben presses the B flat key down and the other kids in the class start playing their instruments. I've always really hated when the band is tuning because if one person is off it all sounds like complete death. I'm so glad I play the drums.

All of a sudden I hear a horrible wailing sound explode into my left ear. Which reminds me of another reason why I really don't like when the band is tuning.

That reason, of course, is Maxwell Potts.

Maxwell is just one of those people that irritate you, but when you try to pinpoint exactly why, the lines become blurred. Of course there is the fact that his favorite thing to do is show off. Which I wouldn't mind if it was actually good. And there is also the fact that he hates me.

I glance over at his tall, boney figure and take in his fingers, moving at lightning speed, firing up and down the neck, and missing about seventy-five percent of all of the notes. He plays the same exact lick from the same exact song every single time he gets the chance; it's so aggravating.

I take the raucous playing as an opportunity to do something really stupid but that has been nagging at my head ever since I sat down to play today. I glance around to see if anyone is paying attention to me, just in case one of them is a mind reader and is sensing that I'm worrying my ass off internally. Luckily no one is paying attention to me.

My foot taps down on the bass pedal and I'm greeted with a low thump. I take a deep breath and feel a weight lift off my shoulders. Thank God, the drum made a normal noise.

"Okay, gentlemen," Pearson says, completely ignoring the fact that we aren't all gentlemen. There actually one girl in jazz band; her name is Dorothy Tucker and she plays barri sax. No one really talks to her though, since she's bigger than half the guys at our school and speaks in nothing but huffs and grunts. Or else that's what I think, I haven't really tried speaking to her myself. She scares me.

"I have something new for you to play," Pearson continues and slams a stack of parts and scores down on his conductor's stand. "It'll be played at the Spring Showcase in March and it is quite difficult so you will be seeing a lot of it the next couple of months. And good news, it's not scheduled the same day as a football match like last year."

"Yes!" Ben and I say at the same time. I reach my hand over to Ben and he gives me a high-five. The Spring Showcase happens every year in March and it's where all of the groups in the art department of KCS come together on one night and "showcase" what they do. It always ends up on a football night, though, which has always been a pain in the past to work out. I think Ben and I care about the sport a little too much.

Pearson takes the parts and hands a stack to each person surrounding his podium. Everyone starts passing them back and eventually a drum part finds its way back to me. I skim over the part and my eyes stop in a section that I don't typically see in my music.

"And, yes, this song features a drum solo," the teacher says, confirming what I'm looking at right in front of me. "I think it's about time we show off how great of a drummer we have."

I give a small smile and look down at my feet. I can't believe it, a solo? I've been looking forward to this day my entire life. I hand claps on my shoulder and I look over to see Ben smiling down at me. "You got this, mate."

x x x x x

Thursday, January 16, 2003

5:46 P.M.

Mumford Household

"Home!" I shout at my mother and make my way to her usual place in her office downstairs. "You believe what happened today! In jazz band I got a so-" I cut off right as I reach the door to the office. She wasn't there.

"Mum?" I call up the stairs. There is no response. I make my way to the kitchen to see if she's in there but instead of finding a tall woman I find empty space. I go over to the phone and find a yellow sticky note stuck to the receiver.

"Amelia Green is ill and in the hospital so me and your father went to visit her. We won't be home until 8 so feel free to make yourself and James dinner. Love, Mum"

I sigh and pull the note off of the phone and crumple it up. I attempt to toss it into the bin from where I stand but I come nowhere close. Swearing under my breath, I walk over, pick up the ball of paper, and drop it in the bin.

James doesn't come home for another half hour so we can figure out what we'll be eating then. My brother is in the middle of his gap year between high school and university, so he's taking advantage of his time. And by taking advantage of his time I mean he got a job flipping burgers at McDonald's, which is pretty lame considering he's actually very smart. Which I don't like to admit most of the time.

I grab my book bag that I had previously thrown onto the couch and head upstairs, quietly humming to myself. Today was a really slow day at Joe's Music so we listened to Bruce Springsteen the entire time I was there. Springsteen is the worst when it comes to music getting stuck in your head; he is next to impossible to get un-stuck.

I wonder if Carey likes Springsteen...

I ponder that thought for a moment before shaking it from my head. My thoughts all day have started with one normal thing, like tests and food and drums, and then without fail found there way to the topic of Carey. It's kind of strange thinking so much about a stranger.

However, I can't help but wonder what she's really like, what her interests are, what she looks like, or anything. What does she look like? Does she read a lot? Does she like jazz? Does she like pepperoni on her pizza? These are all valid questions.

I shove my bedroom door open and throw my stuff onto my bed. On the thought of my pen pal, I might as well write her something.

Pulling a sheet of paper out of my bag and a pen, I sit down at my desk and my hand takes over.

Dear Carey,

Here I am, once again! How are you? I, too, am lost as to what to write so I think I'll just talk about my day and see where it goes.

I went to school, as usual. It was quite boring, actually, as school typically is. I got a solo in band which is awesome! You're the first person I've told, actually. I was going to tell my parents but they weren't home when I got here. They're not home often, really. Though I'm not sure if they would have cared too much, anyway...

But I'm boring you with my self pity, aren't I? I really hope I'm not boring you or anything... It's quite hard sending letters to someone I've never actually seen before. Maybe it's just me, I don't know.

Anyways, have a good day!

From, Marcus

PS: Just wondering, are you be chance a fan of Bruce Springsteen?

{A/N}

Hey hi howdy ho. Just your friendly neighborhood author here with a splendid surprise super quick update. I promise more juicy juicy things in the near future... ;)

I have everything planned out into extensive detail through chapter 10 and then everything else after is more of a rough sketch, but this does mean that instead of me having to grapple with writers block I get to spend that time WRITING!

FAST UPDATES!

Except not quite, because last week along came the 3 AP classes I'm taking this year! Just an FYI AP SPANISH SUCKS. AP Chemistry is hard but not bad at all and AP Music Theory is alright too but do not take AP Spanish Lang. If you aren't old enough to take AP classes then keep a mental note. And if you aren't in the US and you aren't familiar with "Advanced Placement" then bless your soul.

That's my rant for the day! SO LONG FAREWELL AUF WIEDERSEHEN GOOD NIGHT!