It’s eighth period, about 2:05pm, and I’m anxiously waiting for the clock to change.  The faster it changes, the faster I get out.  It’s not time to go yet, but I get up and leave anyway.  I leisurely make my way down to the music hall, get out and put together my instrument, and plop down in the middle of the hall as I wait for some of my friends to show up.  As time goes on, they start to trickle in and join me in the hall.  At around 2:15pm we finally make our way to the gym.  

As soon as students begin to pour into the gym, the band instructor, Mr. Randy Sundell, cues us, and we go unnoticed as we play “Bang Bang”, and “Cake By The Ocean”.  By the time we finish both songs, the gym is a sea of people sporting all-black outfits for the Homecoming assembly.  I could cut the tension between the classes with a knife as the seniors impatiently wait for the only news they care about.  But the first and only item on the agenda for the Pep Band is the Fight Song Contest.  The other seniors and I stand and play for each class as they screech the words of our song back to us.  The winners of the Fight Song Contest are the sophomores.

After their initial excitement dies down, the entire gym goes silent as Dr. Jon Guillaume steps out to announce the winners of the Class Color Competition.  One section over, I can feel the entire senior class holding their breath as I join them in anticipation, hoping to make VHHS history.  I watch as my classmates erupt with joy; they’re screaming, clapping, jumping, hugging, and filling the room with our “undefeated” chant.  As happy as I feel to have won, and as much as I love the band, I can’t help but feel left out and wish I were celebrating with my class instead of sitting with the band.  

At 5:25pm the band meets in the courtyard for dinner.  When I open the door, I’m welcomed by the overwhelming smell of meat on the grill and the high-pitched, excited sound of my friends’ voices.  The entire band is chattering and stuffing their faces with hot dogs, hamburgers, brownies, cupcakes, cookies, and chips.  

Around 6:15pm we all meet in the band room to warm up and hang out before walking to the field.  I scan the room for my section.  On the far side of the room, I see a gold Mellophone in the air, so I go take my seat next to it.  I talk with Abel Thomas (11) about the weekend, and how the whole Pep Band experience “takes up a lot of time; almost from 5:00pm to 11:00pm, so six hours”.  We agree that if we weren’t at the game, Thomas would be “watching TV or hanging out with friends”.  I watch as Thomas trades instruments with his other friends, and proceeds to play each one; surprisingly, he even manages to play the Pokémon song on a trumpet.  After about five minutes, I see the last member of our section and the bell-mouth of his blue Mellophone enter through the door.  Kevin Cronin (11) joins us on the far side of the room, and immediately starts emptying spit from his instrument.  

Mr. Sundell enters the room from his office, and raises his arms to command attention.  The room fills with the loud, out-of-tune sound of a B Flat chord.  We play a scale or two, do some tuning, run through our halftime songs, and still have at least 20 minutes to kill before we leave for the field.

As we chat amongst ourselves, our voices are accompanied by a select few unnamed people, playing the same, old annoying song (that will now forever be engraved into my mind) in the background.

Finally, it’s 6:50pm, and Mr. Sundell over exaggeratedly motions toward the door, indicating that it’s time to go.  We all lazily stand, zombie-walk our way out the door, form an unorganized clump on the sidewalk, and hike out to the field.  We enter through the side gate, trudge across the track, and come to a halt in front of the student section of the bleachers.  The entire group shuffles in unison as we all try to find our places in the lineup.  Under the direction of Mr. Sundell, we play the School Song, “Hey Baby”, and the “National Anthem”.  

As the game begins, the whole band files up and into the bleachers.  As I step up the last stair, I look up into the bleachers and see Kevin.  Not wanting to be awkward and alone for the whole game, I quickly scurry up the bleachers and claim the empty spot in front of him, even though Cronin tends to spend a lot of game “sleeping against the fence”.  With only one other person in our section remaining, I scan the stair-climbing crowd for Abel, only to realize he’s already inching his way down the row to take a seat.  Once we’re all settled into our spots, the entire section fills with jabber as we wait for Mr. Sundell to give further instruction.  

Although Cronin would “rather not be tired and freezing on a metal bench,” Thomas points out that “Sundell is amazing, and if it were anyone else I’d probably die.”  In between most plays and quarters, we scramble through a whole slew of songs.

 Near the end of the second quarter, we all file back down the stairs and onto the track for halftime.  While the Dance Team performs, some people watch, a large portion mockingly sings along, others talk, and Abel beatboxes.  When the Dance Team finishes, that’s our cue to be ready.  

For halftime, we play a variety of songs that Mr. Sundell has chosen from a long rotation of music.  Once we’re done playing, we all file back up the stairs, place our instruments in the bleachers to reserve our seats, and rush into a small field beside the bleachers for the duration of the third quarter.  

As the beginning of the fourth and final quarter gets closer, we are ushered back into the bleachers to play out the last stretch of the game.  When the clock times out, if there is no music played over the sound system, we stay to play the School Song.  However, if music does begin to blare from the speakers, we sprint from the bleachers, out the side gate, and back to the school in a stampede, all as we hear Cronin “yelling at people that are playing after it’s over.”