Keeping in Line

by Courtney Brandt

  “Then J.D. looks like an idiot, and probably will deny everything because that’s the kind of guy he is.”

  “Very true. Which brings us to Option C, you don’t do anything and somehow everyone manages to forget what happened.”

  “Will they?”

  “Drew, you’re a cute guy—” Lucy paused before saying, “Ouch!”

  “I’m a cute guy, ouch? What does that mean?”

  “I’m talking to your brother.” She continued, half speaking to Joe, “Hey now, cuteness can run in the family. Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted, I was saying that you’re a cute guy and I’m sure the girls in the band will respond to your enhanced ‘bad boy’ image. As for your leadership, well, just act the part and I’m sure the rest will fall in line.”

  “You really think so?”

  “I think it’s pretty much your only option, unless you just want to leave Bronwyn high and dry.”

  Drew thought a moment, “I don’t want to do that.”

  “Well, I think you should talk to her. I mean, you can’t just ignore her.”

  “I can’t?”

  “Boys! Here, talk to your brother,” Lucy answered, obviously exasperated.

  Drew heard the phone being passed back to Joe.

  “Bro – you okay now?”

  “I think I am.”

  “Well, I’ll see you soon. I think Mom and Dad have forgotten what I look like.”

  As they said their goodbyes, Drew thought about what he would have to do next.

  In the quiet parking lot, Bronwyn wiped her eyes on her hoodie and walked back toward the school. A voice called out, “You need a ride home, B?”

  She recognized Ben, and shouted back in what she hoped was he most cheerful voice, “That would be great, thanks.”

  She walked over to his truck and hopped in, determined not to mention anything about Drew.

  Ben had other plans, “So, what a weird night, huh?”

  Bronwyn tried her best to feign ignorance and tapped nervously on her knee, “Yeah, I guess.”

  Ben dropped his voice, “How’re you holding up?”

  “I—”

  “I can’t believe Drew actually made a bet on you. I mean, I don’t know a lot about him, but that really doesn’t sound like anything he would do.”

  Bronwyn, who felt the evening had been discussed ad nauseum with Jared, Mark, and Lance, said, “I’d really rather not talk about it.”

  Fortunately, Ben felt his obligation to his passenger’s feelings were over, and changed the subject, talking about the game and their performance instead. As they neared Bronwyn’s house, the tenor player turned down the radio and asked awkwardly, “So, you sure you’re okay? I mean, I don’t know a lot about chicks, but tonight couldn’t have been that easy.”

  “Which part could you be referring to? The part where the guy I thought I liked actually bet on me with my Captain? Or the part where the entire band found out about it? I know, how about the part just a few minutes ago where that same guy completely acted like I didn’t exist?”

  Ben opened his mouth, then closed it again.

  Bronwyn continued, “I’m sorry, it’s just been a hell of a week…hell of a season so far. I completely understand if you don’t ever want to be in a car with me again.”

  Ben chuckled and stopped the car at Bronwyn’s driveway, “Nah, it’s not that bad, B. And remember, if you’re really feeling bad, I’m sure there are a few people who wouldn’t mind trading places with you.”

  “Really? Name one.”

  “Only sophomore on snare? Plus, don’t forget, you’re marching on one of the best drumlines in the country. Who really cares if some guy doesn’t like you?”

  Bronwyn smiled briefly, then collected her things and before she closed the door, said, “Thanks – I really needed to hear that.”

  Drew thought about what had happened in the parking lot and what Lucy had said.

  Maybe you should go over and apologize…

  Maybe that’s not a bad idea.

  Although Drew was almost home, he turned his car around and went directly to Bronwyn’s house, hoping to somehow catch her. Pulling into her neighborhood, he saw a vaguely familiar car drive out. The driver was definitely a teenage guy. Drew put the timing together in his head, and assumed whoever the kid in the red truck was had driven Bronwyn home.

  It’s not like you gave her a lot of options. You left her alone in the parking lot. Can you really blame her?

  Drew didn’t know who to blame anymore. He got out his phone to call Joe again, but opted for sending a text instead.

  >> Maybe instead of u coming home, I should come up there. Here sux.

  The senior waited for a response, but wasn’t surprised when he didn’t get one. It wasn’t until the following morning when Drew checked his e-mail that his brother decided to answer him.

  To: FHHSdmajor@FHHS.edu

  From: crazyhat@state.edu

  Subject: Fall Break

  Dude, you need to get laid or something. You’re stressing out entirely too much for your senior year. I think you need to do whatever it takes to get over this chick (or politics or whatever has made you Captain Weirdo this semester). If that means coming up here for a weekend, I guess that’s cool. If you don’t have any competitions, I think I have a free weekend coming up in October.

  Lates,

  Joe

  Ben’s words went a long way with the sophomore and Bronwyn managed to think about her disastrous Friday night only once an hour over the weekend. Under the false pretenses of looking for a Homecoming dress, she headed to the mall with Megan and Meredith. While they were taking a break in the Food Court, Bronwyn filled them in on Drew’s strange behavior in the parking lot.

  Megan munched on a fry and asked, “Well, what did you expect him to do?”

  “I don’t know. I just wish I could go back in time and never have asked him to help.”

  Megan laughed, “Yeah, but then you would’ve never gotten to kiss him.”

  Megan and Meredith made loud smooching noises, while Bronwyn turned beet red. Meredith finished laughing, then said casually, “So…I have a question.”

  Bronwyn smiled, glad the subject had changed, and said, “What’s up?”

  “How well do you know Ben?”

  Bronwyn looked quizzically at her friend and mentally sized up the potential pair. She could definitely see her sometime chauffeur and her favorite flute player happily dating. Plus, just because her recent foray into romance was a colossal defeat, it didn’t mean other people had to miss out. She replied, “Enough to know you guys would totally be a cute couple.”

  Meredith grinned, “So, you’ll help?”

  Bronwyn nodded, “I’ll put in a good word.”

  To: karatechop@state.edu

  From: FHHSsnaregrl@FHHS.edu

  Subject: Need a vacation from real life…

  Lucy,

  Ready for the understatement of the year? Things didn’t turn out exactly how I thought they would. Drew went through with his part of the deal, but after he left, and there was no response, J.D. decided to tell everyone that Drew had made a bet on me. No big deal for the Line, but of course, at that moment Sandra walked by and heard everything and by the end of the 3rd quarter, everyone in the entire band knew what happened.

  To top things off, I tried to go and talk to Drew, but he completely ignored me.

  However, it’s not all bad. I guess some of the guys on the Line like me a little better. I can’t tell if it’s a reaction to a little hissy fit I threw or because maybe they just actually like me. Who knows? Boys are weird.

  B

  P.S. Maybe I can convince my parents about coming up to visit you so I get away from all this chaos.

  * * *

  CHAPTER ELEVEN: How Do You Talk To A Drummer?

  Bronwyn walked into fifth period on Monday as if nothing had happened. She crossed her fingers, hoping not a word would be mentioned about Friday night’s drama. She watche
d Tony walking over to her with a big grin on his face, and knew she would not be so lucky.

  “Hey Bronwyn…”

  Bronwyn ignored Tony and walked into the percussion room and began pulling out Stewie.

  “How was your weekend?” Tony was nothing, if not persistent.

  Bronwyn rolled her eyes, but replied extra sweetly, “It was fine, thanks for asking. How was yours?”

  “Whatever.”

  Bronwyn got out her snare stand and went to set up in the half arc. The first bass player, who was not one to give up easily, continued following her. He asked casually, “So, I guess if you turned Drew down, then you really don’t care too much about him?”

  “It would appear I don’t. I turned him down,” Bronwyn commented lightly.

  “If you don’t like him, I guess it wouldn’t matter that I saw your oh-so-dreamy drum major and the Guard Captain at the movies on Saturday night?”

  “I-I—”

  “That’s what I thought.”

  Jared yelled from across the room, “Hey Tony – you want to think about getting your drum out?”

  Tony smirked and went to the percussion room. Bronwyn was beyond embarrassed and completely surprised at the tears welling up in her eyes. She forced her turbulent emotions down and numbly went through warm ups. Her thoughts drifted.

  Didn’t he feel anything real with me?

  Apparently not.

  But that night…

  Apparently it wasn’t the real Drew. Look what he’s done since then, ignored you and started dating someone else. Does he really deserve any further thought?

  “Flueger?” J.D. snarled and got her attention. It was then she realized she was the only person still playing.

  “Sorry.”

  Her Captain gave her a stern look and then said, “Let’s start again with the bass break.”

  To: FHHSsnaregrl@FHHS.edu

  From: karatechop@state.edu

  Subject: Visit?

  B,

  Sorry to hear things didn’t go according to plan…but sometimes life just works out differently than we want it to. Did Wes and I plan to stay together even though we are living thousands of miles apart? Yes. Did I know I was going to meet someone new? No. Okay, sorry to digress from your problems, but I’m kind of a weird place here and trying to sort things out.

  So, hopefully, you can just put your drum on and put all this behind you. Chalk it up to a life lesson and move forward. Who knows? Sometimes the guy and girl do get together in the end. Keep your fingers crossed, keep playing a clean show, and I’m sure everything will turn out okay.

  Luce

  P.S. I think I mentioned I have fall break in late October. Maybe you can come up then? It would be great to see you – and I still need to get back to Forrest Hills to see you march a game!

  Bronwyn woke up the following morning completely unmotivated. Usually she looked forward to any day she got to wear her drum, and especially days when she got to see Drew, but today she felt anything but excited. To make things worse, she had spent most of the previous evening looking through her freshman yearbook scanning for pictures of Christina, the Guard Captain. It seemed Christina was everything Bronwyn was not. Christina was a beautiful brunette with stunning locks like a Pantene commercial, long legs and was an amazingly talented dancer. She had been on the Homecoming court for the junior class last year. Even though she knew she didn’t have a future with Drew, seeing her ‘competition’ had definitely not made Bronwyn feel any better. She had called Megan and Meredith to see if they could confirm Tony’s rumor, which, unfortunately they could. No less than five members of the Flyers marching band had seen the duo together. Reports ranged from “cute couple” to “just friends.”

  Fortunately, the educational portion of her day passed quickly and before long Bronwyn was grabbing Stewie to head down to the practice field. The sophomore was pleasantly surprised when Ben decided to join her. They both walked while leaning back to relieve some of the pressure of the weight of their drums.

  Bronwyn said, “I wonder if I’ll ever go back to walking normally.”

  “Not likely.”

  Bronwyn looked over at Ben’s seemingly massive tenor drums, which she had never really worn before and asked, “Want to switch?”

  Knowing most people had a weird obsession with ‘trying on’ other instruments, Ben shrugged and took off his quints. Usually instrument switching only went on in the stands, but if anyone wanted to carry the heavy tenors down to the field, he was all for it. The sophomore almost collapsed when she put on the weighty quints.

  “How do you carry these things?!”

  “Why am I not playing snare?” Ben said at the same time.

  They looked at each other and laughed. Ben looked normal with the snare, but the quints looked ridiculous on Bronwyn’s petite frame.

  “Want to switch back?”

  Bronwyn shook her head, “Nah, it’ll make me appreciate Stewie that much more when I get him back.”

  “You named your drum?”

  “Uh, yes. Doesn’t everyone?”

  “Uh, no.”

  Wanting to change the topic, Bronwyn asked, “So, Ben?”

  “Yeah?”

  Bronwyn wasn’t exactly sure how to proceed next. She had Ben’s attention and by now it was pretty easy to talk to him. With nothing to lose and everything to gain, she queried, “Are you seeing anyone right now?”

  Ben looked at her weirdly, “Not really, why?”

  She stated hesitantly, “Umm, I know someone that likes you.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, do you know my friend Meredith?”

  Ben hesitated a moment before saying, “On flute?”

  Bronwyn knew the pause was intentional. He had noticed her friend. She nudged him, “So you do know her?”

  Ben tried not to look embarrassed, “I’m glad we’re talking about Meredith. For a minute there, I thought you were talking about yourself.”

  Something about that statement struck Bronwyn as the funniest thing she had ever heard. She burst into hysterical laughter while other band members looked at her strangely.

  Drew looked up to see classmates coming down to practice. He wished he had not chosen that exact moment to look up. Seeing Bronwyn flirt with that guy on quints irritated him on a level he didn’t think was possible.

  What is she wearing?

  Those would be quints my friend, Ben’s quints.

  Did the other night mean nothing to her?

  Hearing Bronwyn’s happy laughter peal across the parking lot caused him to grimace. He felt himself clenching a fist, which was very weird considering he classified himself as a non-violent person. He was still staring at the pair when he felt someone at his side.

  “Hey there, handsome.” Christina smiled at him.

  Drew looked over at the beautiful brunette next to him and felt a flash of guilt. The only reason he had called her over the weekend was that he knew she had a long running crush on him and probably wouldn’t care about his current reputation. The senior tried to force thoughts of the redheaded snare out of his head.

  “Hey yourself,” Drew finally responded.

  He could tell Christina was probably wondering if he was going to ask her out again, and Drew really wasn’t sure what the answer to that question was. They had shared a nice evening together on Saturday, but it lacked the magic that his trampoline date with Bronwyn had. Drew’s blue eyes flicked to the far side of the field where Bronwyn was still (!) talking to Ben.

  Obviously she didn’t waste any time…

  He asked Christina, “Do you want to go out after the game on Friday?”

  A blush broke out over her pretty features and she answered, “I’d love to.”

  “Great, I’ll talk to you at practice on Thursday.”

  “Sounds great. I’ll talk to you soon.”

  Drew watched as she walked away, doubt filling his mind.

  Obviously he didn’t waste any time…

&n
bsp; Bronwyn’s eyes narrowed on the female figure leaving Drew’s side. On the inside, a small part of her was dying, but she was determined to continue talking normally with Ben. She forced her gaze from Drew, and returned her attention to the quint player, “So, you want me to talk to her?”

  Ben rolled his eyes, “Hello, B, this is not 4th grade. I am perfectly capable of talking to a girl by myself.”

  “Understood.” Bronwyn looked to see the rest of the Line pretty much assembled, “Looks like we’d better get into formation.”

  Due to the odd ‘truce’ between J.D. and Drew, the band actually made progress during practice that day cleaning the ballad. Although they were still behind for the season, the show was starting to really come together. Everyone in the band seemed committed to making their performance the best it could be. During the last water break, an impromptu game of Keep-Away with a broken tenor head had started on the far side of the field, involving the Sousa and trumpet players versus the members of the Line.

  “Ouch! Damn it!”

  Even from across the field, it was obvious someone in pain. Listening to the stream of curse words that followed, it sounded like someone was in excruciating pain. Bronwyn thought she recognized the voice. Rushing over, she was saddened to see Kevin holding his wrist in agony. Bronwyn’s heart sank; not only was he an all around nice guy, he was also a strong member of the snare line.

  J.D. was already at his side, “Are you okay?”