Chương 16: Gotta Keep Moving

A scattering of excited mutters rose from the band at Mrs. V's proclamation. She smiled, allowing the moment to stretch out for dramatic effect. Only then did she continue.

"This year's show theme is… Metamorphosis." Metamorphosis. A show about change, evolution, and transformation. Not just the kind that turned caterpillars into butterflies, either. It wove together many different interpretations of the word to create a more holistic and, in her opinion, interesting program. In an era where most shows seemed to focus on concrete themes, renditions of show tunes, or clear stories, it was surprisingly abstract. A trend that would catch on with more and more bands as the years went by.

It also stuck out as being the most difficult show that Olivia would ever be a part of. She shook off the last vestiges of sleep as the drum majors passed out the music. As soon as she laid eyes on it, everything came rushing back. Complicated runs that had always given her particular difficulty greeted her like old friends. Soaring high note sustains stared back at her with wide eyes. The tempo of the first movement only further confirmed her recollections—a hundred and eighty beats per minute.

About the speed of a racing heartbeat if someone were sprinting. Well, unless they're a sprinter or one of those crazy athletic people. Jason's smart watch barely ever saw him go over a hundred twenty, even when he was working out. Playing a normal piece at that speed would be hard enough, much less this one. Which meant she'd need every bit of focus she could get. Sounds of astonishment and dismay rippled up from the arc as other students laid eyes on the piece for the first time.

The cries made it clear when a new group noticed each individual component that made this music a behemoth to tackle. The freshmen in particular wore stricken expressions, a few going completely still at the task looming before them. Even that bubbly freshman flute had fallen silent at the sight. Mrs. V waited for the excitement to die down before speaking.

"Let's try a runthrough of the first movement," she announced.

"We will play straight through, without stopping. If you drop out, come back in as soon as you can. Understood?" There were a few nervous chuckles around the arc as everyone eyed each other. The consensus was clear. This would not go well.

"I don't expect perfection, naturally." The music teacher smiled reassuringly.

"But I do expect everyone to try. It will be valuable sightreading practice at the very least."

"Set!" The drum majors raised their hands as the band steeled themselves for the battle to come. The metronome started, the sheer speed of its electronic clicks eliciting groans and shouts of disbelief from the group. Mrs. Villanueva just smiled.

"Well, perhaps we can take it a little more slowly for a first attempt." The metronome slowed down a few notches. The tempo was still fast, far too fast. But it was a little better at least.

"Remember, simply try your best and play with confidence. We'll work on accuracy in the coming weeks. Now, drum majors?" The two exchanged a quick glance and began counting off. Their hands sliced through the air in quick, precise movements to match the metronome behind them. Already Olivia heard the song playing through her head as she steeled herself. Then, it began. Sight reading was an important skill for any musician.

The ability to play a piece well without ever having seen it before was understandably a valuable one, and something that spoke to one's fundamentals. Unfortunately, it was also exceedingly difficult. The first note went great. Everything after… not so much. Olivia heard as entire sections of the band went from playing in unison to sounding as though they'd suddenly been pushed down the stairs—complete with an ominous silence as they presumably hit the bottom.

There were points where she could pick out familiar melodies and sections of the music, but they were brief glimmers hidden away underneath layers and layers of roughness. Especially as they hit a passage that she remembered as particularly harrowing. The bass line lagged behind the metronome slightly as the kids fought to accelerate their fingers.

The flourishes that Olivia knew to listen for ended up sounding more like flubs rather than anything intentional, an impression only reinforced by the chuckles of disbelief she occasionally heard between segments. When the woodwinds did come in a few measures later it was with a series of tricky sixteenth note runs that Olivia remembered quite vividly. Ones that she'd struggled with even by the end of the season. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

Now, she recognized them for what they were—simple scales. Scales that she hadn't practiced in ages, sure. But just that knowledge made the task before her seem so much more approachable. She locked in and managed to stay in through the first one, even if it did sound a bit clumsy. The second one as well. By the third, Olivia could feel herself falling behind as her fingers fumbled over the keys.

She dropped out momentarily before rejoining for the fourth and final run and ending with a somewhat breathless long note. Her efforts were rewarded with another series of rests, during which she had time to observe how the others were doing. She'd been vaguely aware of her own section's performance already. The dark skinned piccolo managed to continue playing for the vast majority of the piece, far more than even Alyssa.

The trumpets and saxophones also boasted a single member each that kept their entire section afloat while barely missing a beat. Surprisingly, Lexi in the trombones also managed to keep up for the most part, albeit with her own fair share of mistakes. It highlighted the difference in abilities between the various band members to a rather extreme degree. And yet it also shed some light on a question that had always nagged at her. Why? What had possessed Mrs.

V to throw such an incredible challenge at them, and why only during her first year? Now, she understood. They had a lot of skilled kids in this group— truly skilled ones. Even the ones that couldn't measure up to the best of their section still showed glimmers of brilliance sometimes. Sure, she remembered that they'd ended up making a few concessions for the freshmen to make their lives easier—this was quite a challenge to throw at such inexperienced kids.

But now, looking around at the number of skilled upperclassmen… She understood why they thought they could do it. Why the music teacher decided to push their limits now, before they all graduated. It was out of respect for the overachievers. Not that those who followed after would be slouches. Far from it. But even now, she felt like this group was a bit special. Olivia focused back in.

She became only vaguely aware of the others as she adjusted the grip on her flute, preparing for the next section as though it were a bull barreling toward her. Her focus locked on the page as her fingers flew. The rest of the piece continued as expected. The longer and slower sections allowed the majority of the band to regroup, while more difficult ones quickly cut down their numbers to size.

Despite times where the result barely resembled the notes on the page, flashes of that familiar music shined through and jogged Olivia's memory. The spot where a snare feature would go. The section that would give the baritones more trouble than any other. She even remembered a few spots where the movements on the field combined with the music for a particularly tricky challenge. Eventually, the band dragged themselves across the finish line.

Everyone joined together for the last series of sustained long notes to cap off the train wreck. While she did her best to infuse the sound with triumphant confidence, many of those around her sounded more exhausted and relieved to be done. As soon as they cut off, the whole band inhaled to catch their breath. Then, they burst out laughing.

"What was that?!"

"Mrs. V, what's wrong with you?"

"What even are those runs? Why would you do this?" Everyone started talking all at once. The complaints rolled in, but it was clear to see that most were intended as jokes. Even Mrs. Villanueva was laughing. Once everyone settled down, she spoke.

"Well! That wasn't quite as bad as I initially feared. But it's clear that we have quite a ways to go." Her eyes crinkled as she smiled.

"So. Let's begin from the top—more slowly this time. We will split the piece into sections to make it more manageable." And just like that, the real practice began. It quickly became clear that this music would take a lot of work to get right. An expectation that matched what Olivia remembered. But rather than intimidated, she found herself smiling as well. After all, she was more prepared than ever. This will be fun.

After a long day of practice and a bit of homework afterwards—her Geography teacher was clearly of the mind that days off were best spent studying and working on assignments—Olivia took the rest of the weekend to simply spend time with her dad. She honestly hoped that her mom would get home early on one of the days so that they could all spend time together as a family. Unfortunately, reality wasn't so kind. The previous weekend had been a bit of a fluke, and by the time Mrs.

Miller finally pulled up each day, it was just in time to see her husband and daughter cleaning up their dishes for dinner. It's all right. There's always next time. The knowledge that this period of her life wouldn't last forever just made Olivia more eager to take advantage of the time. But it seemed that no one else felt the same kind of pressure. Then again, she figured that divorce wasn't really on either one's mind. Not yet. I still don't know exactly why it happened.

But with how little they see each other, it's less and less of a surprise that things went that far. They might as well be strangers at this point. She honestly suspected that even if they did spend a bit more time together, it wouldn't change things. Not when this had become the standard state of affairs. Which made her feel a little less wary of looking for such opportunities. But all too soon, the weekend drew to a close. Olivia fell into her bed with a soft whumph, staring at the ceiling for a long moment.

The first week went ok. I think I've done things about as well as one could expect, given the circumstances. It had taken her some time to adjust to her new situation, but now? She felt as though she was settling in much better. Both to her new persona and her place in the world. There were still plenty of times where she felt herself cringe at her acting, but remaining quiet generally seemed to work just fine for most situations. Now I just need to keep it up. Sighing, Olivia closed her eyes.

Last week had been uneventful enough. Hopefully the next would be the same.