"Reset!" Mr. Z shouted through the obnoxious megaphone. Our mouths dry and salty, the entire band hurried lazily to their last set hoping not to be singled out. I spun around and pushed my foot forward when bam! I smashed right into a tuba player.
"Sorry," I grumbled in a not so sorry tone. My head ached slightly before the incident, so now it throbbed.
"No, don't worry about it. I wasn't looking where I was going." These run-ins caused an angry annoyance throughout the group.
The marching band had spent all summer practicing here on the parking lot football field. We knew the cracks in the pavement and we knew the routine. We marched this set seven times tonight, and unless it looked immaculate, we would march it until nine pm struck, which …show more content…
Regardless, my mind spun into a whirlwind. Like dominos falling, just one could lose balance and send everything crashing down all at once. So many things surrounded us. I studied the hullabaloo with an unknown familiarity; the noises could always BE heard, but we didn't always take the time to hear them. Between each terror, I noticed the cars whizzing through the parking lot and planes flying above. Dogs barked in the background immediately followed by scolding owners and quiet whimpers. I could even smell sweat and gasoline mixing in our odd setting of torture. Words jolted me from my private observation as a staff member uttered, "Alex, please go to ready," pointing not so subtly at my feet, which were about a foot apart rather than together like they should have been. I moved them to the correct position as a shot of pain spiked through my feet and shins from standing and working all evening. Giggles floated in the air around me as my friends witnessed my embarrassing blunder. The distractions he shook me from helped hinge me to reality, as oddly as it may have seemed. His small comment inadvertently developed into a dagger which cut the connecting metal that held my armor together. Now, even a splinter could pierce my …show more content…
He shot me an unconvincing look. "Are you sure? I'm just worried about you." I dreaded these words. I wanted to tell him everything, but I felt like a burden and a waste of Jim's kindness. ´Alex. You're okay,' I told myself. 'All you have to do is march. One feeling, one job. Feeling upset isn't a reason to fall through and fail even more.´ As logical as they appeared, my thoughts tore my self-esteem apart. ´Just make it through, and do not let Jim know. He doesn't deserve this. He deserves so much more than your problems.´ Before I conjured a more convincing answer, my thoughts were interrupted by the loud boom of the metronome. I could tell my lack of an answer left a cloud of ambiguity behind, but I didn't know what he wanted me to say and the worst of it WAS over. The truth WAS I no longer felt like falling dominos, I felt like fallen dominos; unstable and uninteresting. Fallen dominos ARE nothing but blocks on the ground ready to be swept away. Even if I told him, he wouldn't understand. To him, the birds always chirped softly and the chatter always subsided.
"Sorry," I grumbled in a not so sorry tone. My head ached slightly before the incident, so now it throbbed.
"No, don't worry about it. I wasn't looking where I was going." These run-ins caused an angry annoyance throughout the group.
The marching band had spent all summer practicing here on the parking lot football field. We knew the cracks in the pavement and we knew the routine. We marched this set seven times tonight, and unless it looked immaculate, we would march it until nine pm struck, which …show more content…
Regardless, my mind spun into a whirlwind. Like dominos falling, just one could lose balance and send everything crashing down all at once. So many things surrounded us. I studied the hullabaloo with an unknown familiarity; the noises could always BE heard, but we didn't always take the time to hear them. Between each terror, I noticed the cars whizzing through the parking lot and planes flying above. Dogs barked in the background immediately followed by scolding owners and quiet whimpers. I could even smell sweat and gasoline mixing in our odd setting of torture. Words jolted me from my private observation as a staff member uttered, "Alex, please go to ready," pointing not so subtly at my feet, which were about a foot apart rather than together like they should have been. I moved them to the correct position as a shot of pain spiked through my feet and shins from standing and working all evening. Giggles floated in the air around me as my friends witnessed my embarrassing blunder. The distractions he shook me from helped hinge me to reality, as oddly as it may have seemed. His small comment inadvertently developed into a dagger which cut the connecting metal that held my armor together. Now, even a splinter could pierce my …show more content…
He shot me an unconvincing look. "Are you sure? I'm just worried about you." I dreaded these words. I wanted to tell him everything, but I felt like a burden and a waste of Jim's kindness. ´Alex. You're okay,' I told myself. 'All you have to do is march. One feeling, one job. Feeling upset isn't a reason to fall through and fail even more.´ As logical as they appeared, my thoughts tore my self-esteem apart. ´Just make it through, and do not let Jim know. He doesn't deserve this. He deserves so much more than your problems.´ Before I conjured a more convincing answer, my thoughts were interrupted by the loud boom of the metronome. I could tell my lack of an answer left a cloud of ambiguity behind, but I didn't know what he wanted me to say and the worst of it WAS over. The truth WAS I no longer felt like falling dominos, I felt like fallen dominos; unstable and uninteresting. Fallen dominos ARE nothing but blocks on the ground ready to be swept away. Even if I told him, he wouldn't understand. To him, the birds always chirped softly and the chatter always subsided.