Chapter Text
There was a large circle in the center of the field, enclsoing the lion’s head that served as Gravesfield High’s mascot. To begin the day, the band would stand along the circle, their drum majors on the lion ready to lead the band in morning stretches. Afterwards, Mx. Whispers would begin the day's announcements.
“Welcome everyone,” they started, “Welcome to the first day of band camp!”
Despite absolutely no one having been happy to wake up at seven in the morning during summer break, cheers erupted across the band. As the excitement died down, Mx. Whispers continued on.
“This morning, we’ll just be starting with fundamentals. After lunch, we’ll move inside and work on music for the rest of the day. I’m quite sure many of you haven’t even touched your instruments since last school year.”
A series of oooo’ s and murmurs followed, as friends admitted their guilt to each other, or over compensated in an effort to pretend the words weren’t true of them.
“First things first.” The director waved their hand to call attention back onto them. “Attendence. Section leaders, please check your lists.” Luz didn’t bother to pull her list out, knowing everyone was already here.
Mx. Whispers went through the sections one by one, noting the names of the missing kids. It was always a lengthy process during the school year, but during band camp, there wasn’t an admin to get onto their ass about missing a kid or two. Besides, attendance in band camp was really just about knowing where the holes in the formations would be.
When all sections had been accounted for, the band was instructed to move into the fundamentals block. The upperclassmen found their spots with ease, while the rookies were sent into a frenzied attempt to copy what was being done around them.
Luz had called for her teammates to join her in the back of the jumbled formation, waiting for the back line to even itself out. The drum majors eventually made their way to the back to help the rookies find the empty spots, allowing Luz to line her guard up behind the band. There was an extra line of empty spots between the band and guard to keep the band from getting whacked whenever the guard had their equipment.
The next hour was spent going over the basics of marching. How to roll a step, how big a step was, how far a yard line should be, all the basics that were already drilled and sealed deep in the minds of returning members. Occasionally, Luz would step out of the formation to fix someone’s posture. Usually Amity, who had seemingly mastered the steps, but was having trouble knowing where to position her arms and hands in the set position.
“Hold your left hand in front of your waist,” Luz corrected her, “And your right should be at your forehead. Now, make yourself look strong! There you go!”
A fifteen minute break later, the formation was set up once again. Now, the band worked on their backwards marching. It was only about five minutes worth of group work before Mx. Whispers called for sectionals.
The guard captain pulled her team off towards the edge of the field, claiming the spot for themselves. The team was lined up with Willow and Hunter in the first row, while Amity, Gus, and Vee took the back. Luz was off to the side, counting them off with the metronome ringing out from the center of the field.
“Five, six. Five, six, seven, and up, and step!” the sophomore called out.
Hunter, having the most experience, took to the exercise with ease. Willow stumbled for the first few steps, but was quickly able to find her balance. Amity, once again, had the steps perfect, but her upperbody was quick to fall out of position. Gus had a habit of letting his heels fall as he finished a step, but Luz would call it out everytime to break it before it became a problem. Vee, on the other hand, had seemingly no issues other than struggling to find her balance as she stepped off.
As the summer heat crept into the day, the students' enthusiasm waned. As fun as marching band could be, the heat of summer would wear away at anyone’s energy. Thankfully, Mx. Whispers released the students for lunch before the heat became unbearable.
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“So, how do you guys feel about your first day of band camp?” Luz asked, unable to keep the enthusiasm out of her voice. Currently, the guard was camping out in their designated closet where everything was stored.
Amity shrugged, “Well, the day’s not over, but I’m looking forward to starting work with the flags.”
Vee nodded excitedly in agreement with the green-haired girl as she took a bite of the sandwich she had brought for lunch.
“Eda will be here after lunch to help our newbies learn the basics. Hunter, Willow, and I will be working on track routines and the fight song to refresh our memories.” Luz turned to face Hunter. “Do you know when Darius will be here?”
“He said next week,” the boy replied, “I think that’s when Eda plans on starting the show work.”
“I’m so excited for this year's show!” Willow exclaimed, earning agreement from the rest of the kids in the closet.
After lunch, the guard kids each grabbed a practice flag and made their way to the gym. Thankfully, the lights were on saving the team from a mad hunt to find anyone who had the keys to turn them on. According to Hunter, the captain during his first season actually had the team practice in the dark to test their muscle memory for the work. It hadn’t ended well, with at least two kids getting mild injuries. One a sprained wrist from catching a flag at an odd angle, and another a concussion from their rifle landing driectly on their head.
Luz had Willow lead the team through stretches, as she knew which ones would help the most. During these stretches was when coach Eda finally made her appearance.
Luz had met Eda when her family moved to Gravesfield a couple years ago. She lived across the steet, then a couple houses down, just up the hill from the Noceda house. The family had been told that she was quite the odd person and to just stay away from her, but Luz, an oddball herself, took that as a personal challenge and proceeded to walk up and introduce herself.
Since that day, Edalyn Clawthorne became something of a second mother to Luz. She would watch the girl when her actual mom worked late nights, or would just be there if she ever needed someone to talk to. It was a given when Luz reached her freshman year that she would join Eda’s team.
Luz raced across the gym floor to greet her coach with a tight hug.
“Hey kid,” Eda greeted, returning the hug. Once the girl released her, the woman took note of the team she would be working with this year. “So, who are the new recruits?”
Luz bounced with excitement as she began pointing out her teammates.
“You already know Hunter and Willow, they’re back. The girl with the dyed hair is my friend, Amity-”
“Willow’s old bully?” Eda murmured the question to Luz.
“Yeah, but she’s better now. They’re working on being friends again.”
“Gotcha. I just don’t want any unnecessary drama on my team.”
“The small dude is Gus. He’s the kid that kept popping into practice last year,” Luz continued on, “And you know Vee already.”
The girl in question raised her hand and waved to her new coach. Eda waved back with equal enthusiasm. That was one thing Luz loved about Eda as a coach. She was able to keep up with her students and match their energy for whatever situation.
“Alright, gotcha,” Eda said after luz finished. She then called out the next instructions. “Returning kids, go practice whatever. Just refresh your memories. If today is your first day, then please come see me up here so we can begin learning!”