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Chapter Text

   It was finally Cabby's second year of band. She had been practicing her clarinet until she nearly passed out, praying and hoping she'd make it as both band president and section leader. Just last year, MePhone had nominated her. The absolute joy that swirled in her hearing the news was indescribable. She trained for this moment since she joined. She just knew she needed to try out! Of course, her friend Test Tube was competition for the role at the time. She knew that would happen; after all, it's bound to! Not to worry, though, Cabby knew she was going to make up to the vial by giving her the best band experience ever!

   As the cabinet strolled towards the field for her first ever practice of the season, she searched desperately for her section. The clarinets stood around awkwardly. Yes, yes! There was OJ, Paper, Test Tube, but no sign of Tissues! She looked around frantically before rolling over towards her section. OJ and Paper smiled and waved at her as she came, but Test Tube seemed to be avoiding her eyes with cold intentions. Cabby wondered if it still had to do with her being section leader. After all, Test Tube did seem to have a personal problem with her quite a lot last year, but it was probably Cabby's own fault anyways. She was sure this year was going to be amazing!

   "Do you three happen to know where Tissues is?" Cabby asked with an innocent smile. "I could've sworn he was a-"

   "He's a saxophone now," Test Tube spat.

   An awkward silence sprouted from the section. Paper fidgeted as Test Tube glared daggers into Cabby's eyes.

   Though, there was no reason to be nervous! This was a comfortable silence for Cabby. She knew her friend was angry at Tissues for switching sections like a traitor. It was nothing more than that.

   Right?

   "Geez, would you guys settle down?" MePhone called, already seemingly exhausted by the objects around him. They all slowly silenced, watching as MePhone paced back and forth on the field.

   "Would the section leaders please come to the front of the field?"

   This was the part Cabby was waiting for! Last year was so admiring watching the section leaders! Especially her own! Test Tube standing up there looking so nonchalant up there had her in a trance. It was quite the inspiring sight, to say the least. She wanted to be just like her one day!

   That day happened to be today. As Cabby stood up there, her excitement started to fade and her anxiety took over. Wait, what is she doing up here? She didn't deserve to be anything like Test Tube! God, why did she have to take this role. She glanced nervously across the crowd of objects as the second section leader started their speech. The file cabinet felt a hand rest on her shoulder. She looked down anxiously, her eyes meeting Lightbulb's.

   "Hey, pal! You're a sophomore, right?"

   Cabby weakly nodded, fidgeting with her fingers as Lightbulb spoke to her.

   "Ah! Don't worry so much, kid! Name's Cab, right?"

   "Uh... Close enough."

   "Mine's Lightbulb. My section hates me. I don't want to be section leader."

   They had moved onto the third section leader. God, why did Lightbulb have to strike up a conversation? Not only did she not care about her life story, but the whole band could see them talking. She swore they were snickering about their rude behavior.

   "I'm sorry, but-"

   "Ahh!" Lightbulb shushed her, bringing a finger to her lips. Cabby grunted. "Nobody cares! Look around! They're all zoned out. Well, except for like, five people. You're going to be fine, Capital C!"

   "Thanks, I suppose," Cabby laughed. Now that she realized it, the light bulb was totally right. It was actually harder to find eyes that were deliberately paying attention, than it was to find the dead ones. A confident smile spread on her face as Lightbulb began her own speech. She could do this. She knew she could. Cabby glanced over to her section, where OJ and Paper were chatting amongst themselves quite joyfully. She caught sight of Test Tube, who was smiling warmly as her friend Lightbulb wrapped up her speech. Everything was going to be all right. There was nothing to worry about at all...

   "Moving on to Cabby," MePhone sighed. It was almost impressive how he was already tired of this. "Go on."

   "Hi! Yes! I'm Cabby! Nice to meet you all! I'll be the section leader for the clarinets, and also your band president! Please come to me for any advice or help! I'll be glad to work with you."

   Silence occupied the crowd, but that was to be expected. They were holding their applause until the end. Cabby's heart fluttered with joy, glad that Lightbulb had encouraged her a bit. She looked down at her as MePhone moved into the next section leader, and she gave her a smile back. It was nice to have friends. She looked over to her clarinet friends, OJ and Paper grinning at her with pride. Though, Test Tube...

   Eh. She decided she would ignore her sour expression. Hopefully it was just a bad day for her.

   The band had gone over the basics of marching, just as they did last year. Cabby thought it was sweet of them to do so. She watched as the freshman performed rather well. In fact, the new trumpets, Apple and Goo, were doing better than her own section! OJ and Paper were in front of her, all wrongly footed! Not to any rhythm, either! This was definitely a great look for her section.  Her eyes met Test Tube, who was almost grossly focused on her marching. She couldn't lie, the woman was madly good at the marching, but something about her intense determination freaked her out a little.

   "Test Tube, are you-"

   "I know you must feel really important as a section leader," Test Tube said, "but I don't need your help. I was section leader last year. I know just as much as you. MePhone might've decided to pick favorites with you, but just know you're the same as me."

   "Wow! Really?" Cabby exclaimed, again, not picking up on her hostility. The file cabinet had taken it as advice. "That's a lot, especially coming from you!"

   "I'm sure it is," Test Tube grumbled halfheartedly. Cabby was extremely thrilled. She didn't expect her idol to actually give her advice; in fact, she actually avoided the subject in fear of angering her. She was extremely glad she had someone to talk to about the role. Test Tube was totally right. As long as she kept herself grounded, her section would find ways to help themselves without her. It wasn't going to be as big as a responsibility as she thought, or she hoped.

   "Uh oh, Cabby!" Cheesy laughed, strolling by with his drum equipment. "Looks like you're on the wrong foot!"

   The file cabinet looked down, only to realize she was literally on wheels.

   She heard a snicker from Test Tube. She couldn't help but smile at her laugh. What a time to be alive! In a mediocre band with the best clarinet player in the world! She wouldn't have it any other way.

                                                                  ________________________________________________________________________________

   Test Tube had just about enough of this jeebweezer. Who did she think she was? Most importantly, why was she so good at faking her kindness?!

   It was a break, all the students scattered across the field. MePhone himself seemed glad he called the break, as he was leaning against Toilet, which wasn't something you saw everyday. Fan had studied them to be the least likely to get along. Next to her and Cabby. Her eyes traveled to Cabby, who was... sorting music sheets?

   Hmph. Maybe the music was for the freshmen. She scoffed and continued to bask in the sunlight, still slightly annoyed that Cabby had even gotten so far in the band. It was like she practiced everyday to spite her, and by golly, was it unbearable. Ever since day one, Cabby kept close eyes on her, as if she were always watching her so she could outrank her. Not only did she take her section leader role, but the bonehead had to take the band president role from Paintbrush, too!

   "I mean, don't you care?" Test Tube remembered whining to Paintbrush one night. They'd been sleeping over to escape Knife coming to their door to lecture them about practice.

   "Ugh! Not really? It was a lot on me anyway, good for Cabby," Paintbrush had exhaustedly retorted. At first, Paintbrush had supported Test Tube in her wild Cabby hatred, but now it seemed pointless. They couldn't even remember what Test Tube disliked her for anymore.

   "I still think she's pulling something. No sophomore would want to lead the entire band, let alone a section."

   "Hey, correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't you literally take the section leader role last year? When you were a sophomore?"

   "That's only because OJ wanted me to."

   "Sure, Tube," Paintbrush mumbled, extremely unamused with her answer.

   Snapping back to reality, she realized most of the band was forming into lines. She hurried to her feet, looking around for her section in immense urgency. In front of her, was Cabby, who had a sly smile on her face.

   "You must not have heard MePhone," she sighed, mockingly holding out a hand. Test Tube ignored it as she got up. "We're forming marching li-"

   "I know. Just- Where is our section?"

   "Hey, uh, are you okay?" Cabby suddenly asked. It took everything out of Test Tube not to roll her eyes at the question. Why did she always have to ridicule her?

   "I'm fine, Cabby. Please lead me to our section."

   "Seriously, Test Tube," she said quietly. "You've been quite crabby all day. If you need to sit down, it wouldn't hurt anyone."

   "If you don't lead me to the fucking sectio-"

   "OY! LANGUAGE!" Toilet shouted from the front of the field. "AND GET IN YER PLACES, WILL YA?"

   Test Tube glared at Cabby, whose face was twisted into a crushed expression. 

   "You're right," Cabby laughed, although it sounded even more fake than usual. Test Tube huffed, Cabby's inability to be genuine boring her to tears. "Uhm, our section is over here."

                                                                ________________________________________________________________________________

   Her outlash today meant nothing, Cabby had told herself. She knew she was lying to herself, but what reason did Test Tube genuinely have to hate her? As practice wrapped up, she spotted Test Tube slowly and gently putting her clarinet away. She was smiling and talking to Lightbulb as she did so. Oh, great! Two friends! She'd get the opportunity to apologize to Test Tube for whatever she did, and another to thank Lightbulb for helping her push through the introductions. 

   "Lightbulb! Test Tube!" Cabby cheered, waving enthusiastically at the two and rolling on over. Lightbulb's face lit up and grew a large grin, while Test Tube's darkened. Not a great start, but the world isn't perfect! 

   "Look, Test Tube, I wanted to apologize for not immediately getting you to your section," Cabby started bashfully. "It was incredibly rude of me to dig into your personal feelings like that."

   "I don't care," Test Tube responded, interrupting whatever Lightbulb was going to say to Cabby. The file cabinet grinned from ear to ear. Thank goodness! She didn't even care. Oh, yes! She had almost forgot to thank Lightbulb for the help! She bowed and gave her thanks to the  bulb, who energetically returned the formal gesture. As she strolled away, their conversation faded in her ears.

   "What a nice girl!" Lightbulb exclaimed.

   "Ya never know," Test Tube said with a sing-song voice. Something about her comment made Cabby feel judged. She slightly turned back, to see Test Tube glaring her down.

   Ah...

   She hoped she was just misunderstanding things. Otherwise, this would be an extremely rough year.

Chapter Text

   Another section bonding... Great.

   Test Tube was no fan of these in the slightest. It meant being required to spend the entire day with her. The best she could do was just power through it and pretend like she wasn't there. If it were up to Test Tube, though, section bondings wouldn't be a thing at all! All this section needed was proper practice. After all, Cabby couldn't even memorize a march if her life depended on it. Pathetic, really. Who let her in band, let alone be the president of it?

   No matter, there was no time to think about such ridiculous things. She apathetically made her way to the food court, expecting to catch sight of OJ or Paper. Unfortunately, the only person there this time was Cabby. She sat around awkwardly, her graying hair a frizzy mess, her clothes awfully wrinkly, and her face completely lost. Test Tube did suppose she was a bit worried about the state of her section leader, but it wasn't something she wanted to dwell on. She approached Cabby with a curt nod, to which she didn't even respond to. How rude!

   The jeebweezer continued to sit scatterbrained for a while before glancing up to Test Tube, her eyes big and nervous. Test Tube couldn't help but be slightly enamored with her face. Despite being a complete mess, there was something extremely beautiful about her.

   Not that she took a liking to her or anything. It was just an observation.

   "OJ and Paper decided today was a good day to go out," Cabby mumbled agitatedly. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she said so.

   "So, just you and me, then?"

   "Yes. I'm aware this'll be thoroughly enjoyable for both of us," the silver haired girl responded, her voice thick with sarcasm. "Of course, you could leave at any time! Nobody's forcing you to stay."

   Test Tube was quiet for a moment. While she did hate Cabby, she did suppose spending some time with her wouldn't be so bad. It was only to learn her ulterior motives to the fullest extent, though. Any other reason would be foolish.

   "Ridiculous," she finally responded, waving her hand nonchalantly. "You're my new section leader. Why wouldn't I want to spend time with you?"

   "Oh! I didn't- Ah, Uhm... Gosh, thank you!" Cabby laughed, pulling out her phone and rapidly texting something. She tended to use her notes app a lot for some strange reason, but Test Tube decided not to question it. "Anywaaays, I've got quite a bit of money saved up if you want to buy anything!"

   "So you can force me to pay you back? Ha! No thanks. I'm barely getting by!"

   "Not my intention," Cabby grumbled with a drying patience. "Though, since you have mentioned your lack of security in reference to money-"

   "Geez, Cabinet, just call me broke."

   "Since you're broke, how are your reeds? I could always buy you some new ones."

   "Look," Test Tube sighed, her gaze shifting into a glare as she spoke, "I don't need your pity. Said it before, I really shouldn't have to say it again."

   "You're completely right," Cabby said halfheartedly.

   Test Tube grunted as the both of them fell into an awkward silence. She did occasionally glance at Cabby, who was just mindlessly on her phone. It seemed like she didn't want anything to do with Test Tube.

   What a jerkwad.

   If she weren't such a numskull, she wouldn't mind spending time with her. Something about her barely put together appearance had Test Tube in a hold. While it definitely caught Test Tube's eye, it also made her slightly worried about Cabby. It wasn't like she should actually care about her, though. Well, she should, but... Ugh- Just...

   "I need to go, actually," Test Tube said with urgency.

   "Thank the heavens," Cabby replied with the same tone. "I don't particularly love spending too much time around you. I assume you feel the same."

   "Wonder why," Test Tube spat. The calmness in Cabby's reveal of her dislike towards Test Tube shook her a bit though. She was usually a doormat.

   "Me too," the scruffy girl sighed, her tone a bit genuine. She stood up out of the chair, clutching a cane and nodding respectfully towards Test Tube.

   "Wait! Where's your wheelchair? Do you need another one?!"

   "Ha! I didn't expect such a caring tone from you! Fear not, today is simply leg day," Cabby laughed. Unfortunately, the joke had landed and Test Tube let out a soft chuckle, which she tried to cover up by coughing.

   "Not funny. You're walking home, I suppose?"

   "You're hilarious," Cabby said dryly. "I'm taking the bus."

   "The bus is crowded and awful," Test Tube declared. "You might skeeve too many people out. I'll drive you home."

   "Oh, why thank you, your majesty!"

   "This is out of my love for the people! I'm only driving you home so they don't have to endure you."

   "Quite harsh! Though, one could say you're driving me home out of pity. You're pitying me. Because I'm disabled."

   "Nonsense. It's you who's ableist. The bus driver would see you and crash immediately! Think of all of the wheelchairs!"

   Cabby couldn't help but laugh, and Test Tube fell victim to her own humor too. Could it be? She was genuinely having fun with Cabby?

   Hearing her laugh was pretty nice.

   Not that she liked the sound of it. It just meant she could hear things. Yes. Reasonable. Test Tube straightened herself and cleared her throat, breaking from her laughter once again.

   "Seriously, though. Would you prefer a ride?"

   Cabby took a hard look at Test Tube. As the woman's gaze bored into her, she couldn't help but feel a bit intimidated by her gorgeo- ugh, no, regular black eyes. What's gotten into her? Golly.

   "I think I would," Cabby finally said with a soft smile. "I guess this section bonding wasn't so bad, despite the shortness of it."

   "Yeah, yeah," Test Tube grumbled, leaving the table to lead Cabby to her car. "Whatever. You're still a nitwit."

   "I hope you know every time you call someone a..." Cabby pulled out her phone and scrolled through her notes for a bit. "Every time you call someone a jeebweezer or anything of the sort, it's, like, the least devastating thing you could say. It's like calling a party a hootenanny."

   "Don't lecture me, Notes. I participate in many hootenannies."

   "Enough with your gobbledygook."

   "Hmph," Test Tube huffed, opening the car door for Cabby. She gladly climbed in and settled herself inside.

   As Test Tube sat in the car herself, she caught Cabby's eyes on her. She looked back, to which the frail woman responded with a grin. She then gave her her phone, her address on it.

   "Don't try to stalk me now," Cabby giggled, leaning on her cane. Test Tube was sure she had an adorable expression on her face --not to say that she was in any way attracted to it; it was just a distraction planned by Cabby-- but she kept her eyes on the car, turning it on and backing out of the parking lot.

   "I have no reason to," Test Tube said plainly. The sudden shift in her mood made Cabby sit upright.

   "Right, of course," the freckled woman mumbled, looking away from Test Tube. Thank goodness. They were back to normal. Just as all things should be.

   Cabby finished up switching between her phone and notebooks as the car approached her house. She wrapped all her things together and looked bashfully at Test Tube, who couldn't be more unamused.

   "Thanks for the ride."

   "Get out."

   Cabby did as told, albeit incredibly slowly and clumsily. She pulled herself out of the car only to start to fall face first into the concrete.

   Test Tube, panicked, climbed over to the other side and tugged desperately at her cardigan, yanking her back inside. Cabby took a shaky breath and looked back to Test Tube, intense thankfulness in her eyes. Whatever.

   "Clearly you need help," Test Tube sighed, coming out of her car and helping Cabby out. The sophomore smiled up at Test Tube.

   "You're really strong," Cabby murmured.

   "You almost got yourself killed," the taller woman snapped, though her tone was filled with more concern than disdain. It caused Cabby's gaze to still carry warmth. She returned to her home, though as she reached the front door, she looked back towards Test Tube with a hopeful glance.

   Test Tube, and the car, had gone.

   Alas. She couldn't milk a good moment forever.

Chapter Text

   Clover loves nothing more than to have fun, and marching band is just full of it! Drills, dances, music, anything you could ask for! Don't even forget the free pizza! Oh, her stomach was just yearning for the free pizza! Gosh, not to mention her own band mates were so fun to play with!

   Watching the guard was brilliant! She'd occasionally gush about how gorgeous they were with Microphone, with their fantastic leaps and spins. Microphone was especially enamored by Pepper, which was, like, ha! Who wouldn't be?! She's fantastic! They're all fantastic!

   She'd even often watch the drumline. Their coordination was admirable. She just couldn't get enough of it. Even the childish trumpets were fun to have fun with! She'd hop and giggle along with their stupid shenanigans, and the sousaphones would join in shyly sometimes too! Not to mention, saxophones were fun to have a good hoot with, trombones were nice if you ever needed a place to relax yourself, and the clarinets... Uhm... They, like, play well..?

   Truthfully, she had been trying to find something endearing about the clarinets for a while. After all, flutes and clarinets are sister sections! it would only make sense for them to have some sort of connection, right? Clover unfortunately found this was not the case, as the clarinets were a MESS!

   She tried to approach the clarinets with the same joy and happiness she always had, but they were too stuck in their own hatred of each other that they genuinely just shooed her away. She's never really had anyone be so rude, but no matter, it was just something she was going to learn to overcome! Letting someone else's emotions get the best of you is proving that they have bested you, or at least that's what she's told herself. Today, she was going to have good interaction with the clarinets, whether they liked it or not. In fact, Cabby, the clarinet section leader, was standing- er- seated right next to her. She leaned on her wheelchair and stroked Cabby's hair, to which the section leader immediately jumped.

   "Gah! Touchy!"

   "Oh, my bad! It does seem like you're graying already, though!"

   "Yes," Cabby mumbled defeatedly. "That I am. Would you keep your paws out of my hair?"

   "Sorry, I don't mean to make you ashamed," Clover giggled, her hands by her sides. "It's just really pretty! Almost silver. You're honestly breathtaking."

   "Wh- Uh, thank you," she said quietly. "You're pretty, too. Love your hair."

   "Oh, why thank you! Too nice! Why don't I join in on a clarinet practice? It'd be nice to know your playing is as gorgeous as you."

   Cabby nervously laughed and averted her gaze from Clover. "Well, uhm, I wouldn't exactly oppose it... You're too kind, really. We've actually got a practice going right after MePhone's done with the field stuff."

   "Great! Make sure to let the others know I'll be there! I'll bring snaaacks," Clover giggled in a singsong voice. 

   OJ, Paper, Cabby, Test Tube, and Clover were huddled up in the practice room, everyone's face blocked with wonky stands and piles of music from Cabby herself. Although OJ and Paper were chatting it up, Test Tube brought a deadly aura to the room that caused Clover to feel quite queasy. Just the way she stood there like she had a grudge against everyone in the room made her want to leave.

   This wouldn't happen, though. It happened once, it won't happen again.

   "Cabby!" Clover hummed, leaning over her wheelchair. "Why don't you play this section? It seems everyone's really struggling with it."

   Test Tube's eyes glared into Clover, who tried her best not to take it personally.

   "I-I, uhm, I don't think I'm very good at that section either," Cabby mumbled honestly. Test Tube huffed impatiently. The familiar sound of Test Tube's anger quickly drew OJ and Paper out of their conversation, and into the raging silence. The tension seemed to be rising, but Clover wouldn't let it overwhelm her. She was going to make them have a good moment. They were going to have something redeeming about them.

   "Play it anyway!" Clover laughed. "That way, if anyone has anything to say..."

   Clover's eyes shifted towards Test Tube with a slight nervousness.

   "...you'll be able to fix it, okay?"

   Cabby swallowed and started to play into her clarinet. Immediately, Clover noticed that the rhythm was slightly off. She got all the right notes, though, so what did it matter? Clover cheered as Cabby finished and slung her arms around her, which Cabby thoroughly enjoyed.

   "Amazing! Your tone was fantastic! You're gonna go places, Cab!"

   "Don't be foolish," Test Tube said quietly. "You know she played the section wrong."

   "Are you sure?" OJ laughed, leaning against Paper in a confident arrogance. "It sounded decent enough to me."

   "Precisely. Decent enough. Cabinet, you know you can do better. Don't give in to the easy way out, you wuss."

   "You don't have to lecture her so much!" Paper snapped. "Can you even play the section? Why are you on her ass so often?"

   "It shouldn't matter if I can play the section or not," Test Tube replied frustratedly. "She's our section leader. She should know how to play it right so she can teach it to us."

   "It's not exactly her job to teach us," OJ said with a bit of hesitation. "If you don't know the part, that's on you."

   "Whatever. Cabby, practice your damned music."

   "I am! I don't understand why you have to bother me so-"

   "Don't be stupid," Test Tube spat. "If you let everyone coddle you, you'll never grow to be the player you want to be. Don't listen to people who tell you what you want to hear."

   That deafening silence. It's filled the room again.

   Clover clutched the handles on the wheelchair, anxiousness eating away at her. Perhaps she should've stayed in her lane; she despised conflict.

   "I think... you're right," Cabby murmured. Strangely, her voice sounded genuine. This piqued everyone's interest. "I shouldn't be letting myself get off this easy. Thank you, Test Tube."

   "Whatever," Test Tube grumbled. Though, the scraggly haired woman seemed to slightly pleased with Cabby's answer.

   "You know, you sounded a lot like Knife," Cabby laughed. "Despite being... a bit of a downer, you're real, and I appreciate that from you. Thank you, again, for your wisdom."

   "And I'd appreciate it if you'd just memorize your music," Test Tube lowly grumbled. They continued their one-sided bickering, and OJ and Paper fell back into their conversation again as if nothing happened, leaving Clover quite confused.

   Had they always been so close-knitted? How did this go under her nose?

   No worries! This just means the clarinets had always had something there for each other; Clover was just never around to see it enough. She let a warm smile grow on her face. What a cute dynamic of a section.

   Ah! Her snacks! She had almost forgotten!

   "Wait! Before you all end your practice, I made brownies for all of you! I had a feeling I should make them gluten-free, just in case, you know?" She held out the tray of brownies in front of her for everyone to take.

   "Your intuition is strong, Clover!" Paper laughed. "My body happens to not be the biggest fan of gluten or dairy."

   "I'm glad you'll be able to enjoy this properly, then!" Clover giggled, watching as OJ and Paper each took a brownie for themselves. The two fed each other their brownies, which made Clover smile. Cabby and Test Tube groaned and rolled their eyes at the sight of it.

   "So sappy!" Test Tube whined.

   "I'm glad we can agree on one thing," Cabby added, taking a brownie for herself. The four of them seemed to be extremely pleased, drowning in a delicious silence caused by Clover's sweet treats. The baker herself decided it was a satisfactory time to leave the clarinets to it. They all shared goodbyes, and as the door clicked, they fell into a hush again.

   Clover could finally call the clarinets something good for once. They had a bond, despite their clashing beliefs, and that was quite brilliant to her.

   OJ and Paper slowly filed out of the room, joined at the hip and laughing together. Test Tube watched in great distaste whilst Cabby collected her music again, stuffing it inside her abnormally oversized backpack. It was quite the hassle to roll around and do such, so she came onto her feet for a few moments before defeatedly returning to her wheelchair, only a fraction of her music collected. She let out an exasperated sigh, catching Test Tube's attention.

   "You could just ask for help, you attention whore," Test Tube grunted, collecting the music and handing it to Cabby. "I still don't get why you even have all these pieces. Sure, to be the librarian, but you should know these marches by now. Just because you can't walk doesn't mean you can't think."

   "Test Tube, I-"

   "I don't want to hear your excuses, either. I worry about you as a section leader, but you piss me off with this sheet music bullshit. You're the only person with that lyre in our band and I guarantee it's what's been bringing our scores down."

   "I just can't really remember it for long! I'm sorry for disappointing you," Cabby said shakily.

   "Don't apologize to me. If you want to be on top, you have to push yourself. Practice the music every day. Every hour, if you have to. You're just being lazy."

   "Respectfully, Test Tube, I want you to stop talking," Cabby snapped. Even though her voice was still weak, Test Tube flinched at the remark. "You don't know anything about me."

   "Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

   Test Tube abandoned Cabby immediately after her careless words. After she left the room, she glanced through the glass pane in the door to take a final look at Cabby.

   She was crying.

   Not her problem. Though, as Test Tube made her way to go find someone else to talk to, a twinge of guilt could be felt in her stomach.

   What was her problem?! Every time Cabby thought Test Tube finally liked her, every time she thought that they had something, Test Tube turned around and smashed everything down.

   God, she didn't even bother to write anything she picked up about Test Tube anymore! What was the point when she was so two-faced?! Recollecting the things she's done to her is worse than living them, so why bother? Why even bother being nice to her? It was nothing but a wild-goose chase trying to figure Test Tube out.

   But at the same time, it wasn't.

   There was one thing that seemed to especially irritate Test Tube, and it was right in front of Cabby. Her eyes drifted towards the tear-spotted sheet music that was placed in her lap. Gosh, she didn't even think about the music. How were she to practice now?

   Maybe it was better to forget this all...

   Cabby quietly took out her phone and looked through her notes app until she met a category with the name "MUSIC."

   Ridiculous claim. She had to keep it together for the section. She'd just print it out if the music was too damaged. Still, the fact the thought even crossed her mind made her feel a bit queasy. She let Test Tube get to her this much? She sure was fragile, inside and out, wasn't she?

   "INSPECTION!" an excited voice yelled, bursting into the practice room. Cabby quickly wiped away her tears and met eyes with Apple, Bomb, Bot, and Goo. Apple's joyous mood immediately dropped, and was replaced with concern. "Gee, it looks like you were going through something, prez."

   "Oh, nonsense," Cabby murmured with a cracking voice. "I'm fine! I won't hold you."

   "No!" Bot, who had suddenly rose over Bomb and Apple, said. Goo was piggybacking them. Gosh, they were quite a strange collection of people.

   "Y-You're not annoying anyone!" Bomb chipped in.

   "It looks like you need," Goo started, looking at everyone around him...

   "THE CHEER FACTORY!"

   Though their cheer was supposed to be coordinated, Cabby could barely make out what the four of them tried to say. Despite this, they all giggled with each other in success before turning the attention back to Cabby.

   "I appreciate this, but really! I'm all good, Cheer Factory. I feel, uh, refreshed and enlightened!"

   "That's a lie, and I, like, don't even know what refreshed and enlightened mean," Apple laughed. An comical silence filled the room before the clueless girl turned to the others and quietly asked for the definitions.

   "I can't help but notice you don't know too many words. I could lend you a dictionary you could carry on hand, or-"

   "Ugh, Cabby, I'm done learning words," Apple said. "And marching music! It's incredibly easy to forget. If I can't remember, so be it, that's the way it's gotta be."

   So be it..?

   How could she just up and forget things like that?

   "Wh-Aren't you scared of losing your memories?" Cabby asked anxiously. The four of them stared blankly at her.

   "I mean, not really..?" Apple had said.

   "We could always just, like, tell her again?" Bot added.

   "Everyone loses their memories eventually! L-Like an aging snail! In a growing garden!"

   "It's good t-to forget the bad ones, anyway," Bomb reassured.

   "No!" Cabby cried. "You don't understand! I lose my memory faster than any of you! It's stressful; I can't just live with it, I-I've got to write it down so I don't forget!"

   "You say you forget things," Apple started, "but you also remember these big words like 'stressful', 'dictionary', and 'scared.'"

   "Those aren't hard words, Apple," Bot whispered.

   "They are for me! If you're anything like me, you think of those words in the correct context, sure, but you don't really know what they mean. Why do you feel the need to force yourself to be more than you already are?"

   "I don't understand," Cabby said.

   "I've heard the things Test Tube tells you! You work so hard already; why do you have to push yourself to be perfection for her? You can't! Don't listen to that asshole!"

   "She's right though! I'm so much less than anyone else in this band."

   "Cabby, you actually play the music! I stand on that field, not sure which direction to take, what note to play, or what beat we're on. You took your time to accommodate for yourself, whatever that means. I should be there next to you, playing proper music for my band!"

   Cabby was taken aback. She felt her throat growing hot and uncomfortable again, but this time our of a joyous feeling. She hadn't had that happen before.

   "Yes, Cabby! You're like a tree-climbing fish! Despite how impossible it seemed, you overcame all the challenges! You've done the impossible, Cabby! You're incredibly strong!" Goo cheered.

   "You should always strive to be the best you can be," Bot chimed in, "but you shouldn't have higher standards than you can achieve. You're already inspirational."

   Cabby continued to sit in her chair, staring at the cheerful bunch in complete awe. Finally, her emotions gave in and she started sobbing, messily wiping away her snot and tears in an explosive joy.

   The four students rushed over to Cabby and tried to comfort her in any way they could, slightly worried about the possibility of worsening her state. Cabby only wailed harder. She took off her glasses and hung them on her shirt, sniffling and bawling as she did so.

   "Thank you guys so much!" Cabby managed to whimper through tears. "Thank you!"

   "W-We should get her to... to her d-dorm," Bomb suggested. He started out of the door, and the others quickly followed suit, wheeling her out of the practice room with urgency.

   "You can't just go on the sidelines!" Fan sighed. "I'm sure if you just worked harder to remember, you could actually keep up! Look, I'll help you after school, if that helps."

   "You keep saying remember," Apple groaned. "Remember, remember, remember. What if I just can't remember?"

   "I'm just saying, I have faith in you. I'm not trying to spend extra time outside of school, but at the same time, I, uh, don't really care if you went on the side with Cabby. I'm just trying to keep you here because I believe in you."

   "Are you only saying that because Test Tube would chew your ass out if I went on the side?"

   Fan gave Apple an anxious grin paired with a shrug.

   "Thought so," Apple mumbled. "You know I can't play on the field, either. I know it's my first year and you're expecting more out of me, but I don't want to bring the band down. Please let me on the side, Fan. I'll tell Test Tube I rebelled against you, whatever that means."

   The section leader ran through his bright red hair, seemingly thinking hard about Apple's words. He finally turned back to the freshman and smiled.

   "Go for it."

   Apple's smile grew, and she fist bumped Fan before scrambling on over to the side with Cabby, who looked slightly surprised to see her with her. Fan couldn't help but be glad he helped his section out a bit. He couldn't imagine harassing Apple over something like that. His eyes returned to MePhone, who seemed to be slightly happy at the Apple situation, too. He quickly collected his posture and called for a set, the director's serious demeanor apparent again. It seemed like things were going to be all right for the band. 

Chapter Text

   Pepper adored guard. She got to show off her fantastic skills, not to mention flaunt her beauty for everyone in the band to see. She often caught stares from the brass and woodwinds, though lately she couldn't tell if these were in awe of her and Salt, or in hatred of Taco and Silver.

   Nevertheless, she continued to try her best in guard. She happened to win a few awards, and this year, she was aiming for the national one. She had to be her best. Luckily, the ambitious woman had Salt to help her out. After school she'd usually cheer her on while she practiced, which gave Pepper all the confidence she needed.

   Well, that, and the girl on the tenor was always admiring her, too.

   Pepper often caught this girl looking her way whenever she practiced. She honestly adored the attention from her for whatever reason. Yes, other people constantly looked for her on the field, but it only felt special when this strange drummer did so. Pepper often caught her name slipping out of Staring Girl’s mouth every while. She must've noticed this too, since she had slowly been growing more vigilant. Unfortunately, Pepper had already been conditioned to look out for the staring girl. It was a game that she enjoyed playing, that is, until the other girl looked back.

   The exhausted guard member was just relaxing on the side, watching as Cabby and Apple helped each other with their music. Apple fell to the sidelines a while ago for whatever reason, but it's definitely helped out Pepper with how easily the band's moving again. Apple was kind of a sore thumb in the middle of the field, not to be rude.

   Her eyes shifted back to the field where bunches of other sections were huddled up. She took another swig of her water and dried her forehead before glancing over to the drumline.

   That girl was staring at her again.

   Pepper’s heart immediately skipped a beat, and she slowly drifted her eyes over to the flutes. It was slow enough to catch Staring Girl grinning from ear to ear and excitedly talking about something to someone. This caught Pepper's attention immediately. She quickly looked back at the drumline, who now had both Paintbrush and Staring Girl looking at her. Paintbrush rolled their eyes and gave Staring Girl a nudge, to which she responded by nervously waltzing over to Pepper.

   "Hi," Staring Girl said with a wave, her voice a bit louder than expected. Pepper flinched, but continued to stare at her in a grand confusion. "I just wanted to say you're, uh, really pretty! Okay, bye."

   "Wait!" Pepper called. Before the tall girl could completely run off, she turned around sheepishly and waved at Pepper again. She had to admit, it was slightly cute. "What's your name, weirdo?"

   "Ah! Uh, Mic...rophone! Usually go by Mic, though, so I wouldn't exactly mind if you, uh... Yeah!"

   "Hold on, you're that girl who won all those awards! Dude, Mic, you're, like, a legend!"

   The girl's straight face bored into Pepper for a moment, until it slowly transformed into a bashful grin. "Why, thank you! I try my hardest! Honestly, I got inspired by you, you know? It's incredible what you do with that flag. It's breathtaking too. Should honestly be included in the Olympics. Could you imagine it? Professional color gua-"

   "You, like, talk a lot," Pepper laughed. "Your voice is nice though, so I don't mind. Come, sit with me. Salt's off trying to talk to OJ. Again."

   Microphone sighed and sat down next to Pepper, albeit incredibly shakily. "Salt sure is a character."

   "That she is," the guard muttered unenthusiastically. "You should learn how to shut up, though. She's, like, a good friend. You should get to know her."

   "I don't mean to be rude, but she's been chasing after OJ, even after his strangely homoerotic relationship with Paper."

   "Yeah, they're homoerotic because they're dating each other. Catch up, girl."

   "No, they're not. If you don't believe me, you should ask 'em. They're still being weird about that."

   "You're not, like, serious, right? They're so obviously a couple. Everyone knows except them."

   "You shouldn't put labels on people like that, Pepper," Microphone said with slight authority. For whatever reason, the way Mic said her name left her a bit dazzled. "Sorry for talking shit about Salt, though."

   Pepper leaned against Mic, which took the tenor by surprise. "Yeah, you don't even gotta worry about that. Thanks for calling me pretty, weirdo."

   "Yeah!" Mic happily chirped. She continued to stare down at Pepper for a while before looking off into the distance, slightly anxious from Pepper’s sudden show of affection.

   Pepper had avoided Knife's closet torture today thanks to Mic's heads up. In fact, they were seated together on the dusty floor, a giant sandwich in each of their hands. Even though she was free from the agony of The Closet, it was a bit damaging to hear the wails from inside.

   "It feels, like, wrong to keep them in there," Pepper said after swallowing another bite of her ridiculously large sandwich.

   "Oh, if you wanted them out, we could just unlock the door," Mic offered, walking over to the closet. "Knife doesn't stay around long anymore."

   "Wait, you just, like, sit here every time until it opens?"

   "No, I open it for you. Taco would kill me if I left her inside of there," Microphone snorted, opening the door carelessly as she downed the last of her sandwich. The rest of the guard came tumbling out of the closet, confused, disorientated, and enraged.

   "My, that's too many times we've endured such cruelty!" Silver Spoon complained, shoving himself from the rest of his section and brushing his clothes. "I even wore my good clothes today. Fantastic."

   "Oh, shut up, you," Taco snapped. She covered her eyes as she said this; the blinding lights from the band room hit all four guard members like a bat to the head. "It's bad enough being entrapped in that closet all day, but your unbearable whining makes it insufferable. It's as if we’re being forced to listen to a road accident."

   "OH MY GOD! Would you British freaks shut up? I don't come to this practice to hear another session of... whatever this is," another voice joined in. It belonged to an extremely frustrated Salt.

   As the three of them continued to talk over one another, Pepper caught sight of her new guard member, that weird robot thing, stumbling away from the chaos. It seemed to be used to the overly angry upperclassmen by now. Mic left Pepper's side for a moment to check on it. Pepper couldn't really hear what they were saying to each other, but the machine seemed to thoroughly enjoy Mic's words as it nodded and walked off.

   "Anyywaayyss," Salt sung, breaking away from the aforementioned "British freaks," and throwing an arm around Pepper's shoulder. "Hiii Pepper! Good thing you narrowly escaped The Closet. Did Staring Girl give you that sandwich? Wait, aren’t you, like, on a diet?"

   "Oh, yeah, she came here to pick up Taco. Her name's Mic. I guess I ran into her on my way. She offered me some of her food, and it felt, like, wrong to decline it," Pepper bluffed, looking towards Microphone and Taco. Mic gave a soft smile to her, only for it to be disrupted by Taco lightly kicking her.

   "Wow, you, like, never remember peoples' names. You don’t trust their foods either. Got a crush?" Salt teased.

   "SALT!" Pepper yelped, slapping her in astonishment. Silver Spoon and Salt turned to each other and laughed at her reaction. Pepper bashfully turned back, looking for Microphone. Thankfully, she and Taco were gone already. "Gosh, you could've gotten me killed!"

   "Oh, because you're so secretive with your embarrassingly obvious infatuation with Staring Girl!" Silver guffawed sarcastically.

   "What? I don't like her!" Pepper protested, though her words drowned in Silver and Salt's laughter. "I just look at her so she stops staring!"

   "That's the dumbest excuse I've ever heard!" Salt giggled, covering her mouth as her face turned red.

   "Wow, I see how it is. Don't even get me started on Candle and OJ, you two."

   "Oh, at least we know we're miserable," the obnoxiously snobby man shot back. Salt tittered at this, which grew back into the hearty laughter the two of them began with.

   Pepper couldn't help but join in on their laughing fits. The three of them sat together, howling and repeating things like "you could've gotten me killed!" and "I guess I ran into her!" Even though the two idiots were a pain in the ass to her half the time, she genuinely enjoyed the other half of the time where they got along like this. She wouldn't trade them for anyone in the world.

   Pepper was not going to look at Mic today. She did not have a crush on Microphone, and she was not going to entertain the idea of having a crush on Microphone. She was going to dance on the field, not thinking of Microphone.

   "Pepper, your form is off," the robot murmured, slowly approaching her and fixing it. Oh, that's the robot girl from last night! Wait, how did it even know her name?

   "Who're you supposed to be?" Pepper asked, tilting her form so it was incorrect again. She wasn't going to let some freak project tell her how to do anything.

   "Bot! Uh, they/them, please!"

   "Oh, you're, like, non-binary?"

   "Uhhhyyyeaahhh," Bot said nervously, quickly moving away from Pepper. Weird, but at least she knows that Broth person's name now. Funny, since they've been in the same section together for about a year, now. Pepper never really picked up on the people around her. Well, except... No, she wasn't going to let her thoughts wander off towards her.

   She continued her usual practice, following along blindly with the whistle commands and tossing around her rifle, which she utterly despised. There were all these beautiful flags, and those absolutely stunning sabers, and they were using rifles?

   Nevertheless, she had to be absolute perfection every practice, whether she liked whatever she was using or not.

   She couldn't help but take a look at the band as she was performing.

   Nobody really ever cared about the color guards' efforts. They only looked their way because of how gorgeous they were. Sure, being naturally pretty was part of the battle, but she desperately wanted someone to know she was at least trying to look good for this mess of a band.

   She caught the usual glances: the lucky girl, Candle, the clean freak, that guy who got fucked over by Taco, the fat dude, and... Microphone. The thing she enjoyed most about Lucky Girl and Mic's attention is that they were fully focused on the flags, rather than herself. The others looked at her like she were a piece of meat. The women are no better than the men, and it exhausted her. Especially Candle! Oh, she could rant non-stop about Candle. Not only did it make her feel bad for Silver, but she genuinely found her too pretty to be doing all of that gawking!

   No matter, she just had to-

   "Pepper?"

   Pepper looked above her, Microphone's towering figure covering her like an umbrella.

   "Hi," Pepper nervously stammered out.

   "I think you're really skilled at this gun stuff," Mic said with a smile. Pepper returned the sentiment, grinning warmly at the dorky girl. Gosh, she was such a weirdo.

   "Thanks, but I think practice is, like, still happening. Why are you all the way over here?"

   "MePhone called for a break. The clarinets are at each other's throats, dude. It's like, how does that always happen? I mean, I don't even think I've seen Cabby do anything to Test Tube, but they always have beef. It's so-"

   "Do you really think I'm good at this?"

   "Huh?"

   "Like, I'm not just, like, pretty to you. I'm actually good, right?"

   "Why would you say that? Of course you're good. Have you seen yourself?"

   "Sorry, I've just been in my head."

   “Well, stop that!” Microphone giggled, leaning further down to meet Pepper’s face. “You’re fantastic. Dare I say better than the rest!”

   “WE HEARD THAT!” Silver piped, turning sharply and raising a fist at Microphone.

   “GAYASSES!” Salt joined in with a strong vindictive tone. Pepper’s face flushed at their taunting, but Microphone was looking towards the two hecklers with the same bashful look on her face.

   Pepper was going to take this calmly, but Microphone turned back to her, looking straight into her colorful expression.

   “Oh! I think you turned red, Pepper.”

   “That’s, like, one way to say it…”

   Microphone nervously chuckled and ran back to the drumline. The incredibly embarrassed guard watched as she did so and smiled. She looked back at Silver and Salt, who had comedically taken their eyes off of her and looked in completely different directions. Gosh, they were such doofuses. Was all she was ever going to be attracted to be a bunch of nerds?

   She recollected herself with a fuzzy feeling, watching as Microphone's eyes anxiously found hers again from across the field.  It tracks. Pepper wasn’t too different from the rest of them, after all.