4 BAND CAMP

"To all those besides leadership, my name is Mr. Penn, and as of today I'll be East Coast's new Band Director."

Arthur looked to the man, adorned with a serious face, a small black beard and workout clothes adorning a certain college's symbol and colors, the name of which Arthur himself couldn't quite put a finger on. While not the tallest, Arthur had to admit by looking around the room that his no-nonsense diction and clear focus had immediately caught the attention of not just the Freshman in the room, but the rest of seniority as well.

"Before we have our first Band Camp discussion, can we have everyone get into their sections? Thank you."

Immediately groups of kids began looking around the room for any sign of others with their instrument, some of the upperclassman holding up instruments to clearly guide rookies. To the far end of the room from the front door, a Hispanic senior with tired eyes held up a flute. Making his way over, Arthur dodged all kinds of supplies of instruments and materials on the floor, nervously shuffling in the hopes to not start any unnecessary confrontations.

Thankful, he made it to the other side of the room with little issue. The Hispanic girl looked to him instantly, and walked over to him with a smile.

"Hi! I'm Maya, and I'll be your Flute Section Leader. So... if you have any questions, just come to me."

"Ok..." Arthur nervously nodded, before sitting down in the area with all of the other flutes. Next to him, a scrawny Sophomore male sat cross-legged, hunched over a small notebook and pencil, his most distinguishing feature being the unnatural shine from his side-combed jet black hair. Behind him, two upperclassman girls laughed to memes and such on one of their phones, while around them, the final three girls were all people Arthur had know from his previous middle school. Since he never talked to them before, he didn't think then was an especially appropriate time to start.

"Okay, now that we're all settled..." Mr. Penn called out, to which the room slowly became quieter until only a few light murmurs could be heard. From there, he still paused a few seconds to let them die out, and once the room was completely silent, he cleared his throat.

"Welcome, everyone, to your first day of Band Camp! And, to our graduating Seniors, our final first day." Arthur looked over to Maya, noticing a glimmer of disappointment once he clarified the gravity of their work.

"We have a lot to do, and not a lot of time to do it! But, before we begin, introductions are in order. First... myself. I taught for four years a county South of here, and I've been in Marching Band for eight years: four years in high school, four in college. I know last year was... rough for a lot of the outgoing Seniors, but I promise I'll do everything in my power to make this band the best it can possibly be, if you'll let me."

Sarcastically, several teens near the back started clapping, to which Mr. Penn smirked for a quick second before reverting back to dead-serious. Once he wouldn't break, they slowly stopped clapping.

"Second, I would like to introduce our staff this year. Returning from last year, we have both the Benavides brothers for percussion instruction, and Chase, our Color-guard instructor."

"What's Color-guard?" Arthur whispered to Maya, as several of the students throughout the room began to clap non-sarcastically.

"They carry and dance with flags throughout the theater, like our own version of cheerleaders."

"Oh... cool." Arthur nodded in confirmation.

"And now finally..." Mr. Penn smiled, annoyed. "We can introduce our leadership."

Arthur looked around the room, as several students from the different sections began to stand up, including Maya and the two upperclassman girls from the flutes who were chatting before beyond the Sophomore guy. Margaret and Teller from the front of the room also stood up, making fun of each other in whispers every step of the way. After a few seconds, they all sat back down.

"While we mainly have section leaders, and our Drum Majors up front, I'll introduce the remainder of their roles as they become relevant, as most really aren't on the first day. Not to say they won't be important later, but... anyways. What we're doing."

The teacher pulled out his phone and tapped for a few seconds, making the already-on projector flicker to a screen with a long list of scheduled events throughout the day.

"Two weeks, nine to five on weekdays. The goal of Band Camp is usually to bring rookies up to speed, while more advanced bands take the time to learn advanced drill and music, putting it on the field before most. And with my experience in high-intensity bands, I hope to bring this to East Coast.

"Starting off, today will be all fundamentals for rookies and returning marchers. Tommorow... we start drill."

"Tomorrow?" Maya muttered in surprise, looking confused at the schedule.

"What's wrong?" Arthur questioned, noticing a lot of the older students looking confused as well.

"Nothing really, it's just a bit of an adjustment. Last year, fundamentals took all week."

"All week?!" The other guy from the flute sectioned leaned in and whispered. "I know we took a while, but... I don't remember-"

"It was the longest we'd ever taken. I'm just glad Penn's goal is to fix last year's problems."

"Anyway..." Penn cleared his throat. "I've already talked to section leaders, and we have a plan to get things done efficiently before lunch time. Rookies, that means paying attention to your Section Leaders is VITAL for not falling behind.

"Once we get out there, the fundamentals we'll be tackling involve the basics of being a performer on the field, including proper posture, walking, timing, and how to follow the Drum Majors effectively. Everything that creates a great marching show starts today.

"And, if we have nothing else to talk about... let's line up."