Deceiving Protocol

Chapter 10

Chris' Pov

Once five o'clock hits my mom calls everyone to attention and tells us to go out to the practice field.

The band room is in a rush as we have to go out onto the field for practice. Everyone is making their way down the road to the practice field and for the first time the football players exit the field for us, the marching band. They knew how important this show is to us. This is our playoff game. We march our drill until we think that we have it down. The clock never stops and soon we charge to the band room so we can get our uniforms and instruments to load the bus.

"I'm sitting with you, Chris." Lex points to me as if to make sure I understand.

"Got it." I reply and grab my things to put it on the bus.

"Chris." A boy named Kaylus says in a stretched out tone.

"Kaylus." I reply in the same tone.

"So where is karaoke? In the front or the back of the bus?" he asks and I just play along.

"I'm sitting in the back so if you want to do karaoke that's where I'll be." I laugh. To my surprise he finds a seat in the back of the bus near me. Lex brings her bag to the back of the bus for me while she is helping load the drums before we go. I hang the uniforms on the opened window of our seat. My hat box and flute sit with Kaylus and his little sister, Everlyse. I pull on my bibbers before Lex gets on the bus and sit down on the inside where I know she'll want me.

Lex comes down the aisle of the bus and cages me in the seat. Kaylus hands me his phone and we play some music. The whole back end of the bus is singing at the top of their lungs on the way to the big field. It's half an hour away so we have a lot of time to talk, laugh, and sing.

Lex leans back on me and her warmth seeps into my front. Her hair flying in the harsh wind that entered the opened windows. I took it in my hands to braid it. The strands keeping true to their always fruity smell. No matter how sweaty or gross she was, a hint of fruit always hung in the air around her.

We arrive at the big field and finish putting on the rest of our uniforms.

"Hold." Lex commands me holding out her jacket.I hold my jacket and hers in one hand while I get my hat and flute out. Before exiting the bus Lex grabs her jacket from my hand. I head down the aisle of the bus and put on the jacket. It's a little too big and the neck button it folded down the way Lex always has hers.

"Lex." I call out to her name. Her dirty blonde hair comes into view and I hold out the jacket.

"I thought it felt too tight with the quints on." Lex said as I helped her take my jacket off of her. I slipped it on me and the rest of the band was on the move. I ran after the rest of my flute player friends. I stumble up the stairs and faceplant on the stairs leading to the stadium seats overlooking the big field.

I sit with Carolin and Darren at the stadium. Lex and Anna sit at the ends of the seats so it's easier to get to their big instruments that had to be put in a designated spot. After watching a few bands, I fall asleep.

A boy that we call Shiney said he got worried about me and Darren hit me over the head with his hard lyre that holds his music. My eyes pop open at the sudden pain and I scowl at him.

"I was worried sorry." Shiney quickly apologizes. I huff and see people around me getting ready. We have a few bands before we proform so people are getting ready now. I lay my head back on my big jacket and close my eyes again.

Darrenn pops me on the head again. "I meant to do that lighter than the first time," he comments laughing at my expression. "I failed."

The marching band kids all got up, it's our turn to practice before performing. I grab my uniform and put it on all the way. Hat, glaves, flute, lyre, jacket, bibbers, black socks, and marching shoes. We walk down a set of stairs to get to the practice area which is just an alley like road behind the stadium. Here we line up two by two with our sections and tune our instruments until they sound like they are one. Then it is our turn to perform as we take the field the sky is dark. The field is illuminated with bright led white lights across the green turf that I hate marching on.

I don't concentrate on all the people watching us from the stadium seats. I only focus on the people beside me and making sure that everyone else is at ease despite my own nervousness creeping up my throat. We take the field when the announcer tells us to and perform the first some, at some point I can hear a quint mess up and one drop out. They get back on beat together soon and I remember which step I'm supposed to be on. The second song goes smoothly as well. After playing the last song standing in arches we exit the field.i stand to the side and tell each and every one that they did a good job tonight. My real motive is to wait for Lex but the look of achievement on the freshman's faces made me glad I waited. Lex and Anna drop their drums off and my older sister finds me to take our annual picture. Lex and Anna wait patiently so we can walk to the bus as a group.

"I remember the first time we came here." I smile looking at the band after us play their songs. "Sam was here and he hit me with his cymbals and popped my glasses lens from my glasses." I laugh remembering the memory from long ago. Lex had been there too but at the time she had only been my friend and was pushing for me to go out with Sam. Oh how she would react now.

"Oh yeah, I forgot that Sam was in band." Anna says smiling as well. She only joined last year due to peer pressure from us. The walk to the bus is long and the grass is wet against our marching shoes. The cheese wagon with the number five written in the top corner sat along the fence line. We piled on and started to shed our uniforms.

"I need help stripping." I say to them. My uniform is just constricting enough that I can't reach my buttons to get out of it.

"M'ere." Lex says motioning me to 'come here'. I oblige and she uses quick fingers to undo the buttons efficiently. After we are changed we head to the spot where Leex and Anna left their drums so we can get them loaded into the van that came with us for just the drums. I offer many times to carry Lex's drum for her. She replies with things like, "I don't want it to hurt you." and "you're too little."

I had done it before, she was just being stubborn. The drums were loaded and we wait by the fence line to watch the last band before loading the humid and sweaty bus. I sat in the inside of the seat like I had on the way here. Lex came and caged me in again, leaning against me and giving me her body heat. Her hair pressed close to my nose as I rest my head on her back to save my cold body from the crisp night air. The fruit smell soothes me but doesn't lull me to sleep as we continue to sing and talk on the way back to the school.