Lindsey couldn’t believe how bad her classes were. The teachers were giving them a bunch of homework that was going to take hours to do. Her home economics class assignment was making a gown for the Spring dance. She knew she wasn’t going to it. Because no one has asked her. She couldn’t wait till this afternoon for her last class. She had band practice and the new guy she met was going to be coming to the class.

As she walks into class, she takes the second chair in the saxophone section. She wishes she could bring her keyboard or even her keytar.
She was getting good with it. She wanted to bring it here and play it in the band. She gets the music sheets out and set it on the stand. She prepares her new saxophone and wet the reed.

As she is preparing her saxophone. She spots the new boy she met over the Christmas holidays walking in and over towards the band teacher. She continues to watch as they talked. The band teacher motions for the other two drum players to come over. The four of them talked and once class began, the teacher introduces the new guy as Ian Smith.

Like the rest of the sections, they have a position playoff to see who was to be first position. Lindsey wasn’t surprised that Ian beat the other guys, because she heard him play. He had the same passion for music and the drums, like she did for her music and instruments.

Their teacher passes out new sheet music he wanted them to play. The annual school band competition was coming up and this year their school was going to take part in it. The music sheet her teacher was passing out, was one of the songs that was approve for the competition. Her teacher wanted them to learn the piece. The first time through, the band did okay. They were going to need practice with the piece. For the rest of the class they practice the new music. By the time class ended, her lips were sore from playing. She packs away her saxophone and head towards her locker to grab what school books she was going to need to take home to complete her assignments. As she was locking her locker.

One of the guys in her band class stops by her locker.

“Hey, Lindsey. Do you have a couple of minutes to talk?” Jamie has been wanting to talk to Lindsey.

He found out from his friend up at the music store. That Lindsey played the synthesizer. He was working in the back of the store the day her and her foster mother had stopped in. They had bought the Casio. He had heard her play it, before they purchased it.

“Sure, what’s up?” Lindsey normally took the school bus home in the afternoon.

“Do you really know how to play the synthesizer?”

“Yep, I can play the synthesizer, just like I can play the saxophone.” Lindsey was curious why Jamie would want to know if she could play the synthesizer.

“Cool. Look, me and my brother are putting a band together. I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind stopping by and join us. That is if you’re not doing anything.” Jamie figures she might be a good addition to add with his brother and himself.

“Sure, I don’t mind. What day would you want me to stop by?” Jamie normally had her afternoons free.

“How about this weekend?” Jamie knew that him and his brother didn’t have anything they need to do this weekend.

“Okay, hey, do you guys have a drum player yet?” Lindsey was curious if the new guy would want to play with them.

“No not yet. The guy my brother was going to ask, hasn’t gotten back to us or come over.” Jamie really wanted to get this band going. There was a band contest coming up.

“You might want to talk to the new guy. I heard him play over the Christmas holidays. He’s pretty good.” Lindsey figures he might enjoy being in a band.

“I’ll talk with him. Look, here’s my cell number. Call me later.” Jamie hands Lindsey his cellphone number on a piece of notebook paper.

“Okay, thanks.” Lindsey watches as Jamie runs off towards the buses.

She heads for her own school bus. Normally, in the morning Barbara gives her a ride to school. She only catches the school bus home in the afternoon. She shares a seat with a girl that gets off before her. She was in tenth grade and played on the girl’s field hockey team. The guy sitting in the seat in front of her was gay. He was big time flaming about it. His boyfriend went to a different school.

Lindsey was the next to the last stop. The bus stop wasn’t too far from her house. As she approaches, she notices Barbara hasn’t gotten home yet. She fixes herself a snack and sets her backpack down at the dining room table. she walks into the living room and goes through Barbara’s record collection and chooses a few she wanted to listen too.

Once the record starts playing. She fixes herself a snack and sit down at the dining room table and start on her homework. Her cellphone beeps, letting her know she had a text. It was from her foster mother. She was going to stop at Taco Bell and she wanted to know what Lindsey wanted. Lindsey sends her what she wants and goes back to writing a report she had to turn in by the end of the week.

She knocked her math out in no time and double checked her answers. She doesn’t hear her foster mother when she comes in from the garage. Lindsey was to absorb in researching sources of information for her report.

Barbara walks in and hears the stereo playing Jefferson Airplane - White Rabbit. It wasn’t from her CD collection, but from her husband’s old record collection. She walks into the dining room notices Lindsey hard at work. She had all her school books scatter about on the dining room table. Lindsey was busy typing away on her laptop.

“Are you home kiddo?” Barbara walks into the dining room and hang her purse off the back of a nearby chair.

Lindsey hears Barbara’s voice and looks up. She notices she was standing at the other end of the table with dinner in her hand.

“Sorry, Barbara. I was focused on this report that is due at the end of the week.”

“That’s okay. I got what you wanted from Taco Bell.” Barbara sits down in a chair near Lindsey.

She pulls out what Lindsey wanted and what she got for herself. She had gotten drinks for the two of them.

“So, how was school today?” As she takes a bite of her burrito.

“Ian Smith took fist chair in the percussion section. Our teacher gave us some new music to learn for the band competition he is entering us in this year. According to some of the other band members. They didn’t compete last year. So, this year our teacher and the principal decided to enter our school.” Lindsey never did find out why they didn’t compete last year.

“Anything else happen?”

“I was asked to come over to one of my schoolmate’s house on Saturday. Him and his brother want to start a band and invited me to come over and try out for it. He works up at the music store where you bought the Casio for me and heard me playing.” Lindsey takes a bite out of her taco.

“Do you want to go and try out?”

“I don’t know. I guess I could see how good they are and if they are serious.” Lindsey grabs another taco and put some sauce on it.

Lindsey and Barbara finish up dinner. A couple of hours later, she finishes her homework. She puts all her school stuff back in her backpack and takes it to her bedroom. She plays on her synthesizer for a while to relax and continue a piece she was working on. The new song was a pop-rock tune.

“Alright Lindsey, bed time.” Barbara sticks her head into Lindsey’s bedroom.

Lindsey looks up at Barbara “let me finish this last cord up, please.”

“Alright, you have fifteen minutes.”

“Thanks Barbara.” Lindsey goes back to work on the piece she was working on.

Once it sounded the way she wanted it too. She head into the bathroom and takes a bath before heading to bed.