3 DRUM MAJOR

Before Arthur could turn back around to the steel door separating him and the Marching Band, it busted open, two seniors arguing as they slowly made their way to the car loop nearby.

"How could you have NEVER seen Sponge Bob before?!" The girl questioned the guy, the girl wearing pink exercise shorts and a faded flower t-shirt with a pink cap covering a ponytail and red sneakers, and the guy slouching with black shorts and a plain white t-shirt awkwardly mixed with pale white hair.

"I dunno. Just never cared for it."

"But 'Marching Geeks' though!! And just like... every other episode!"

"I think I have enough Marching Band in my life already. I don't need a T.V special to entertain me." In perfect timing, two teens busted out of the steel door behind them, one riding on the other's back.

"WOOHOO!" The one on top nearly screeched, before the one on bottom dashed back into the Band Room. The guy pointed to where they once were, as if they proved his point outright.

"You're not... wrong. But! I'm gonna find the right episode of Sponge Bob, and make you watch it, Teller!"

The guy sighed, as if realizing the problem might never go away. "Fine, I'll watch it. But just ONE episode, and that's it."

"Yes! Okay, so, what to watch... Hmm?" The girl looked around before noticing Arthur, as he awkwardly watched them from a distance. "Oh... hi! Are you a rookie?"

The guy turned to face Arthur as well, putting the boy on the spot. "Uh... yeah."

"Well it's nice to meet you!" The girl walked up to him, extending her hand with a bright smile. "I'm Margaret, and I'll be your Drum Major! Plus, this sour-puss over here. He's Teller."

"I have feelings! And..." He walked up to Arthur, almost uncaring as he towered over the boy in height. "I'm your other Drum Major. I'm basically here to stop Marge and the band from falling apart."

Margaret laughed, realizing the harshness of his statement. "I don't think-"

"In days." Teller cut her off, dead-serious. "We would be in anarchy within days if I didn't hold you back."

"I guess in that case..." Margaret grinned, before smacking Teller in the back, making him lunge forward. "I'm here to make sure you have some fun!" She turned back to Arthur, hoping for a nod in agreement, only to notice his nervous stature. "You good? Um... what's your name?"

"Arthur."

"Oh, you're the flute player!" She lightened up even more (which Arthur though was impossible), turning to Teller. "This is that good flute player from the roster! From the middle school across town!" She turned back to Arthur, and gave him a quick wink. "Teller here's the MASTER at Piccolo!"

"I'm not even the best in the district, not by a long shot." Teller rolled his eyes at the praise.

"But you're SOOO good it's crazy! That piece for S&E last year was out-of-this-world!"

"Well..." Teller smiled. "At least there are still guys who play flute."

"Yeah..." Arthur nodded in agreement, a little more comfortable by the situation. "I didn't know if guys just didn't... p-play flute or what, but..."

"And don't worry." Teller continued. "We have a sophomore flute player who I think you'll get along with just fine."

"Thanks." Arthur nodded. "...What do you usually do? As Drum Majors?"

The two looked to each other, a bit confused themselves.

"Well..." Margaret began. "We just kind of lead the band, and we make sure things dont fall apart..."

Teller chimed in. "And we make sure to put forth the jobs set to us by our Band Director. It's his vision that brings the show together, after all."

"He's the teacher, right?"

"Yeah, something like that." Margaret nodded.

"Or at least... she used to be." Teller's somber tone immediately brought down the mood.

"What happened to her?"

"Oh. She's fine, by the way. She just went on to do something less... stressful."

"Stressful?"

"Imagine having to look after, mentor, and foster over eighty musicians and make them cooperate together seamlessly. The job's not for everyone."

"But..." Margaret tried to lighten the mood with a more chipper tone. "Everything's fine now! We have a new director this year, and he already has four years of experience with a great High School Marching Band, so I'm sure everything will be fine!"

"Oh..." Arthur got lost in thought about the responsibilities of a leader in a Marching Band. Despite his lack of interest in being a leader, it immediately brought respect to all of the previous performances he'd previously seen. Without even entering the band room, the amount of work that would have to be done overwhelmed the boy to a decent extent.

"So... ready to go in?" Margaret questioned, as Teller walked to the door and opened it quickly.

"Actually..." He mentioned, looking inside nervously. "We gotta get moving, Marge."

While Arthur hesitated at first, he looked towards the casual and confident stances of the two Drum Majors, and followed them inside. While only barely knowing them, they reminded him of the confidence Destiny had, and he pushed on into the large room.

Once inside, the sounds of tens of wind instruments warming up, along with tens of other kids chatting and getting to know each other. The room was about as large as a medium restaurant with about double the height of the roof, nearly two stories, covered in unique shades of calming blue. The biggest things in the room to note were a projector and a computer stand next to it in the front of the room, a small storage room in the back with several brass and string instruments, and a large row of large and bending percussion instruments in the back.

Looking back to the two Drum Majors, Arthur noticed a man in his early thirties in work-out attire walk up to them, and whisper in Margaret's ear. The two Drum Majors looked to each other, before crossing their hands with fists. Margaret began tapping her wrists together, before Teller began clapping. Immediately, several of the students looked to the two, fear in their eyes.

"What could they be-"

"BAND... TEN HUT!!" The two bellowed a lot chant, which resulted in most of the students immediately leaping to their feet, getting into an attention-like position, and calling back; "HUT!!" Arthur immediately jumped in surprise, along with several other Freshman who weren't aware of the procedure. The sound of over seventy kids screaming in unison at nine in the morning could have that effect on those who weren't used to it.

Margaret looked to Arthur's shocked expression, and smiled. To her, this was the beginning of the end, the last of four years of Marching Band. But to him, scared and buggy-eyed, it was only just the beginning.