Chapter Thirty-Five
Today is the day before state, which means it’s Balloon Day—a celebratory day where the whole band spends rehearsal time eating cupcakes, sharing memories, and—shockingly—receiving balloons from the band boosters.
We also march through the halls of the high school at the very end of the school day.
Most of the year, people couldn’t care less about marching band, but on the Friday before state, everyone lines up to watch us parade down the halls…
even if some people spend the whole time on their phones.
Color guard marches in the very back, right behind percussion, and I can’t keep my eyes off Max.
I’ve been thinking more about his conversation with Sire and how he prioritized me over his own hopes of winning the MVM award.
It took a lot for him to do that. And I’m not sure he was ever going to tell me.
It means more knowing he chose to do the right thing rather than only doing it to get the brownie points.
He counts off and the percussion section begins a cadence that gives me goose bumps. I know I’m biased, but there aren’t many things in the world more electrifying than listening to a well-executed drum cadence.
I hold my head high and enjoy the smiles and waves as we march around the school. If we tried to twirl our flags, there’s a good chance we’d smack someone in the head, so we just lift our flags straight up and down and keep time with the band.
When we’re finished, we march directly into the band room and break into screams and cheers.
High-strung energy fills the room…along with hundreds of green and white Mylar balloons tied to chairs.
Each year, the band boosters come into the room while we’re away and decorate each of our seats with balloons, flowers, and cards.
People around me squeal with delight and run to their chairs to see what’s waiting for them.
It’s one of my very favorite moments in the season.
Li comes up beside me. She’s clearly awestruck. “What is all this?”
“This is how we celebrate going to state.”
“It’s amazing.”
I elbow her. “Well, band is pretty great. Let’s go check out our chairs.” I point to the back of the room where an extra row of chairs has been set up for guard.
In addition to the balloon that everyone gets, I splurged (with my parents’ help) and got each of the guard members an additional congratulations balloon, a thank-you card, and a small photobook of us during the season.
I’d been worried I wouldn’t have enough happy pictures to fill it, but in actuality I had a hard time choosing.
Li holds up her card to me. “You made it out to Ellywich!”
Callie wraps her arms around my neck from behind. “And Puff! You’re awesome. Thank you!”
I grin. At the last minute, I decided it’d be fun to use the D&D character names they made at the beginning of the season rather than their actual names.
The rest of the guard silently reads their cards.
I personalized each one, not just with their D&D name, but with details of how they grew during the season and helped our group to succeed.
I may have had to take a grade penalty for turning in my history essay late, but the lower grade is absolutely worth it when I see their smiles.
“Hazel, this is so sweet!” Madisyn cries and pulls me into a hug. Addison and Devin pile on and we all hug each other tightly.
My chair is piled high with things—flowers from my parents, balloons, cards from Faith and Sire, and a tiny stuffed opossum from Nova, which makes me laugh.
I don’t have anything special from the guard, which is a little disappointing, but I push the emotion away.
I don’t need objects to know how much we’ve grown together as a group.
When Faith walks in, late as usual, I gather the rest of the guard from where they’re hovering around the snack table. We all chipped in to buy her a big bouquet of flowers and a card. It’s not enough, knowing that we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her, but it’s something.
“Faith, thank you so much for everything this season.” I hand over the flowers to her with a huge smile.
“You guys, thank you! I’m so incredibly proud of how far you’ve come.” She gives Addison a subtle nod and puts her flowers down on the closest chair. “Hazel, we also wanted to give you something.” The rest of the guard circles tighter around me. They’re practically quivering with excitement.
“I put in the order, but otherwise I won’t take any of the credit,” Faith continues as Devin pulls a small gift bag from behind a chair. “It was completely their idea. But I think it’s very well deserved and I’m happy I could help.”
I gingerly remove the tissue paper, my hands shaking, and pull out a small black plaque. Crossed flags are engraved along the top, and below are the words:
Best Color Guard Captain in the History of the Universe
Hazel Buchanan
I can’t help it. I burst into tears.
They all rush in and wrap me in an enormous ten-person hug.
“You didn’t have to do this!” I blubber.
“Of course we did!” Li argues. “We all voted for you and think you totally deserved to win the senior award. You really are the best color guard captain we could’ve ever had.”
“Thanks for doing those dance break warm-ups,” Devin says.
Keira nods. “And for helping me with my tosses.”
“And for making sure I hit my marks on time,” Deja says.
Faith touches my shoulder. “And thank you for being here when I couldn’t be. They’re right, the season wouldn’t have been possible without you.”
I hug each one of them individually, squeezing just a little bit harder for Li and Faith. My heart is so full, and I couldn’t have asked for anything better than this. Having their support means everything.
We spend some time chatting and eating too many cupcakes. As the time winds down, Sire calls the room to attention.
“We have one final surprise for the end of our day,” Sire announces.
“A special performance from some of our very own band members, led by none other than Max Coleman. An extra special performance, as I understand it.” Sire’s eyes flick to me and I freeze.
“They’ll be performing on the practice field in a few minutes, and they’re requesting that we all come outside and watch. ”
At that, Max heads for the door…along with the entire guard, plus Nova, Felix, and a few other miscellaneous band members. Even the majority of the percussion players follow. I grab Li’s arm as she passes.
“Li, what’s happening?”
She laughs. “As if I’d tell you. Just come on.”
Sire and Mrs. Lewis usher the rest of the band toward the exit. My heart pounds as I follow them. When I step out into the cool October afternoon, Max is waiting for me.
“You’re doing a performance for the band?” I ask.
“No.” He steps closer, his gaze roving over my face. “I’m doing a performance for you. But the band is allowed to be here too. In fact, that’s kind of the point.”
“The point of what?”
“I’ve been trying to think of a way to show you how much you mean to me, and this is the best thing I could figure out. If you’re up for it? It’ll be very public. There are going to be a lot of people in those stands.”
There’s a humming in my ears and my whole body is trembling. I don’t know exactly what he’s planning, but I also know there isn’t a single thing in the universe that could pull me away from those rickety metal bleachers right now. I nod.
“Good.” He takes a deep breath. “Well…I hope you like it.”
He leaves me and I walk slowly up into the stands, unable to process anything but the practice field.
There are at least twenty-five people out there.
Nova is messing with the microphone she uses when she plays her solo for the competition.
Are they about to perform part of our show?
But they aren’t in the usual formations.
In fact, they aren’t really in a formation at all.
They’re standing in straight lines across the field, with all the color guard and percussion members intermixed.
And…are the percussion players holding flags?
Max jogs over to Sire and takes the megaphone from him. “Hey, everyone. Thanks for coming out for this. So, I’ve had an awesome time being part of the Glen Vale band this year.” He scans the crowd until he finds me. “But the best part of being here has been getting to know Hazel again.”
Giggles fill my ears. People turn to stare at me, but I don’t pull my gaze from Max.
“As you’re probably aware, the percussion and color guard have had their ups and downs with each other.
And Hazel and I have also had some ups and downs, mostly because I can never get out of my own way.
I’ve done some really stupid stuff, and I know I don’t deserve her, but Hazel is my very favorite person in the whole world.
And to illustrate that, I’ve put together something, with the help of some very hardworking people. ”
My throat is tight, and I feel lightheaded.
Max runs back to the field, grabs his quad drums, and stands in front of the others.
He smiles at me for a moment, and then begins to play.
It only takes me a few counts to recognize the rhythm.
I squeal before I can stop myself. He’s playing “I Want You to Want Me,” the song we danced to in the car when we were driving to the game store last month.
A few counts later, the rest of the group jumps in.
Nova and some of her other clarinet players play the melody, and I laugh with delight.
There are a few trumpets out there as well, and Socks is playing tuba.
How did Nova learn this song? How did any of them learn this?
They’re missing a few notes, and the song wouldn’t win any Superior ratings, but it’s still remarkable that they’re doing this at all.