Band Cramp

The acrid stench of vinegar and disappointment flooded the home tech kitchen. Had it not been for another round of vinaigrette pasta, Gareth was certain that this atmosphere would have been directly caused by him. Instead, only a handful of steely eyes fixated on Gareth, the rest on the large bowl of demon's spew.

'Now, I want this vinaigrette all eaten up, this time! It gives ya jus' wha' you need on that there field' Madeline called out, causing many a hushed curse to escape the band's lips.

'What's that, then? Indigestion?' Yammers scoffed.

'Any more o' your lip and you won't get anythin'!'

'Suits me' Yammers sniffed.

At that moment, Ealga locked eyes on the percussion section and motioned her head to the kitchen doorway. Yammers shiftily made sure no one else was watching, before making a quick exit with several others. Ealga did the same, her eyes glancing at Gareth as he watched. She quickly put a finger to her lips, motioning for him to be quiet, before moving her finger to make a horizontal line across her neck. She then subtly pointed at Gareth.

Just who did the percussion unit think they were? Gareth scowled as they left the room, knowing full well that Ealga had a secret stash of alternative food, elsewhere. It was the only explanation. Wasn't food not allowed outside the kitchen, anyway? A malicious smile formed across Gareth's mouth as he thought about this. This could be his chance to get revenge on Ealga for her mistreatment of him throughout his stay.

Chase, standing in the lengthy queue and looking just as disappointed as everyone else at the vinaigrette, caught Gareth at the corner of his eye, bounding up to Chase like an excited puppy. This only served to ruffle Chase even further. He turned his mud-flecked scowl towards Gareth, his brow creasing in warning not to perturb him further.

'Ealga's taken the drums to the Gym to eat some food,' Gareth chirped.

Chase was not amused.

'Drums don't eat, you fickle delinquent.'

'No, I mean... you know what I mean.'

'And it doesn't matter, one iota,' Chase snarled, 'as a certain mindless and rabid puppy has shattered countless more rules and regulations than a single percussion unit. Oh, but I'm certain you forgot that in your ecstatic state, so here's your last warning, Mr. Firkins - continue your rabid frothing, sniffing out other members' misbehaviour as opposed to working as a team, and I'll be forced to put you down.'

A flash of lightning silhouetted Chase as he turned his attention back to the queue, leaving Gareth more annoyed than ever. It felt as if he could never win. He stood his ground.

'Hey, I'm doing my best, cut me some slack,' Gareth piped up.

'No, we're not doing this again, Mr. Firkins,' Chase snapped.

The chattering and talking stopped, around the room, falling to silence.

'I even injured my leg for you! Do you think I want to go to prison? Just give me a chance, here!' Gareth blurted out, seemingly with no control over his mouth, anymore.

'I gave you a chance, several in fact. I thought you could handle a "tiny thing like a marching band" and yet, you can't even handle a tiny set without brewing a rumble. You've disappointed me, Mr. Firkins. You've disappointed everyone.'

Gareth tried to speak, but no words came out of his mouth. A rasp was all he manage. He felt cold and unwanted, more than anything, despite his best efforts.

A thunderous clap echoed around the otherwise silent room as Gareth simply stood there, unable to speak and only stare. Chase fiercely stared back.

'You pick on the drum major, you pick on me' Aaron spat, marching up to Gareth and breaking the silence.

Gareth didn't even turn to look at the small brass player as Aaron shoved Gareth backwards. Gareth stumbled, before falling. It didn't seem to faze him. Nothing physical could, at that moment in time. Gareth simply stared out at the other marching members, some smirking, others shaking their head, all of them rejecting Gareth just like everyone else had in his past. An echo of his mother's words rang in his ears, repeated by his parole officer, Warren, and then repeated by Chase.

"You've disappointed me, Mr. Firkins. You've disappointed everyone."

And then Gareth did something that he and no one else expected.

He cried.

Tears leaked from Gareth's eyes, full of frustration and flooding within him. Before anyone else could further a comment in any way or form, Gareth scrambled to his feet and ran out the kitchen door, embarrassed and confused.

Tripping over himself as he reached the double doors of the building, he burst outside to the falling rain. He stopped, took a deep breath and let out a loud scream into the embracing shower, frustration and rage engulfing him. He closed his eyes as the scream stopped but the rain continued. Gazing up into the dark clouds, Gareth felt the rain wash into his tears, mixing and coalescing, until neither were distinguishable.

Feeling about ready to have a true shower, as opposed to the natural one which currently pressed down on him, Gareth gave a great sigh and headed to the shower room. There was nothing more to do than to wash away this anguish and prove everyone wrong.

********************

Gareth awoke suddenly. The gym was illuminated in a milky moon pallor. The silence was deafening. He rubbed his eyelids, sore and tired from the prior storm. Whilst he had retired to the gym, the rest of the brass section had proceeded to the hall where he'd struggled to play the C Scale. Gareth had listened as they repeated the same three tunes over and over, muffled by the brick walls and lulling him into a slumber.

Sitting upright, the sound of crumpling paper echoed against the wooden floor. Gareth had been examining his "dots" for the first part of the show, although he still had no idea what the show was about or where to stand and at what point. He groaned at the thought of having to learn so much in such a short amount of time.

Then there was laughter.

Confused, Gareth listened to the outside world. Hushed chatter. A chuckle. A song. The sound of crackling echoed into the night alongside the light melodic strum. Gareth neared the double gym doors and peered out to the moonlit courtyard.

Aaron and Dave sat arm-wrestling on a fallen tree from ages past, the grass around them glistening from the moonlit rain and glowing from the crackling fire in front of them. Next to them sat Nathan's brother, Bob McCormack, tapping away on a rubber drum pad, seemingly competing against Ealga for the fastest and most complicated beat. To their left was Old Man Sam, enjoying a beer with his son, Chase, followed by his grand-daughter, Tracey, who appeared to be flirting with Yammers. The colourguard member, Kelsey, sat speaking with Elisa, who despite being wheelchair bound was reaching out and roasting marshmallows on a stick. Stefan had an acoustic guitar in hand, strumming away and showing Melanie how to play. In fact, all of the band sat around this apparent campfire, all of them acting far calmer and subdued compared to their earlier short-tempered counterparts.

Gareth felt alone.

As Madeline arrived with her husband, brandishing a tray of charcoal smelling flapjacks, Gareth decided it was time he crashed the party.

'...And then Big Gay Brett pulled up his neckerchief and said... go on say it, say it!' Kara nudged Big Gay Brett, who was falling about in hysterics.

'"I'm going in",'

'He said... he's... going-' Kara fell backwards off of the gym bench at that moment, in non-stop laughter rivalling a hyena.

Big Gay Brett shifted several inches away from Kara, pushing Lofty the other way and onto one of the upturned plastic boxes that dotted the campsite. As Lofty fell off of his new make-shift seat, Gareth nervously greeted them all.

An uneasy silence emanated forth from the members of Adonis, the crackling fire snapping fiercely at Gareth. Stefan continued gently strumming, looking at the guitar, until Melanie nudged his funk into silence. Gareth simply stood there, unsure of what to say for a moment, before finally clearing his throat.

'Can I join you guys?' Silence. 'I mean, I didn't mean it, earlier.' Silence. 'I'm angry at myself more than anyone else, here.' Silence.

Big Gay Brett then started giggling uncontrollably. A startled Gareth gave Big Gay Brett a bemused expression.

'Sorry, sorry,' Big Gay Brett forced through chuckling trills, 'the silence is really funny. You should see the look on all your faces! Stop being such stick in the muds and let the boy in.'

Chase gave Big Gay Brett a steely expression, as if to silence him, but this just caused even more laughter from Brett. This, in turn, set off Kara, who Gareth had the distinct impression was Big Gay Brett's bestie for life.

A rupturing burp vibrated through the night, causing even more giggling and somehow warming the atmosphere.

'Tracey!' Yammers gasped, 'That could fell a horse!'

'Dad, we know it was you,' sighed a small, round teenager with thick glasses and a seemingly constant smile.

'Yammers Junior, I think I speak for everyone when I say "shut up", right?' Yammers responded, causing Tracey to laugh like a dying dog, and Gareth's spine to shiver.

'So... can I sit?' Gareth repeated, a waver in his voice from the intimidating group.

'You can sit, Mr. Firkins,' Chase responded, an air of irritation in his voice.

As everyone resumed their individual conversations, Gareth sat on the edge of the fallen tree, next to an interested Chase. To his left, on various upturned boxes, was Ealga, now sticking out twigs with marshmallows attached to their outstretched fingers. Dave knocked back several cans of drink in quick succession before wiping his mouth and burping loudly. Tracey made a shrieking noise as Yammers started to tickle her, causing Gareth to jump. He watched as his son, known as "Yammers Junior" rolled his eyes and focused his attention to the damp grass beneath them. Gareth began to question whether Yammers was in the same position as his own mum, or... something else.

Disgruntled, but keeping his distance, Gareth turned to face Chase, questioning why her father hadn't stopped this sort of hanky panky. He was deep in conversation with Mandy, a dot book open and their voices low.

'The point of a pa is to keep their kids in check, not turn a blind eye. If I stole something, or came home with a girl, my pa used to spank me like one of those racing horses he'd always go and see. What's your excuse, Gareth?' Ealga asked, but in a way which resembled more of a statement than a question.

Gareth was taken aback by this, before taking a deep breath and responding.

'No dad. He left before I knew him. I don't know who's more worthless - him or me,' Gareth sighed, despite desperately wanting to see who his father was. There was always a rat, nibbling at the back of his brain, eating away at him - a rat with Gareth's face, only older and unshaven. That's what Gareth imagined his dad to look like, anyway, with longer, greasier hair. One day he'll have to track him down and ask him all the questions in the world. One day.

'No dad. Just some ignorant friends?' Ealga scoffed.

'Darren's not... well, he's...' Gareth trailed off. He was going to say that Darren wasn't ignorant, but he kind of was. He wasn't really a friend, either. 'Darren's a mate.'

'Darren's a pleb,' scoffed Bob, turning away and focusing his attention on his rubber drum pad, far more interested in twizzling his drum sticks in time to a beat more stern than himself.

'The negative male role-figure. Mates can easily lead ya astray,' Ealga's partner, known as Siobhan, responded, plopping herself next to Ealga with what looked like a can of beer.

'And what about your ma, Gareth? Is she as easily led as you?' Ealga asked, chomping on a toasted marshmallow.

Gareth's head dropped, slightly.

'No. She's headstrong,' Gareth simply responded, not wishing to find himself wrapped in a conversation about his family.

'So she just sits at home and works to keep a roof over your head... alone? Don't you think that's wrong?' Ealga munched, not looking Gareth in the eye.

There was a lengthy pause.

'Leave the kid alone, Ealga, or you'll break him. We want cheer and beer!' Big Gay Brett chuckled, a hiss escaping a can of amber fluid.

There were a few cheers at that.

'Pass a beer, dad,' Yammers Junior requested.

'You're 14. No, Yammers Junior, no no no, how many times have I gotta tell you not to drink at band?' Yammers laughed, taking a sip from his own can.

Yammers Junior looked sad behind his constant smile, something Gareth hadn't much time to dwell on as Ealga did something unbelievable - she passed Gareth a can.

'For you. Drink up,' she quickly said.

Gareth rolled the can around between his hands, examining its title between the dark green foil. "Lager Than Life" it read, causing Gareth to roll his eyes at the pun. With a hiss of the ring pull and several swigs, Gareth's tongue loosened as much as everyone else's. Dare he think it, he actually was having a good time!

'Gimme that, you're too young!' Old Man Sam growled, grabbing the can off of Gareth after it was half empty, deciding to down the contents himself. It hadn't stopped Gareth drinking lager before, however, thanks to Darren's fake ID. Gareth didn't mind having it taken away, it all tasted the same to him and he'd sampled lager before. He was just enjoying the atmosphere.

Sadie, Elisa and Kelsey were all giggling about something, Bob looked like the happiest he'd been in Gareth's company, and even Dave looked like he was ready to murder several marshmallows in a fit of euphoria.

Soon, somehow, they'd ended up playing a memory game.

'I'm the band leader and I've got a band, a band who needs fed and a band needs to stand, I have my shopping list and here it is, it's like deciphering an elaborate quiz: Some ham for Mandy, legs for Elisa, strawberry lipstick for Kelsey, a death ray for Sadie, tie-dye bandana for Melanie, racing car for Kara, uh... something... big and gay for Brett?' Gareth stumbled, thinking his way through each of the band member's responses.

'Something "big and gay"?' Brett laughed, 'He knows me too well! No, Gareth, it's ten chipolatas!'

'My friends call me Gazza, by the way.'

'Maybe in time,' Melanie smiled, 'as we 'come more of a unit and hopefully less of a prat and a bunch of angry marchers. Ain't tha' right, Chase?'

Chase was worlds away. He stared at the eclipsed trees in the distance, as if the shadows were haunting him deep within.

'Leave him, my chumlies. He's thinking about his ex-wife, again,' Mandy whispered.

'Bloody fool, he was!' Old Man Sam piped up. 'Letting her get the better of him. We'd still have a house, if it weren't for her wenchy ways. Gone and made us move down 'ere!' he drunkenly spouted.

'Helena ruined dad,' Tracey quietly interjected, her arms around Yammers's neck, her body perched on his lap.

'Any girl ruins a guy,' tutted Big Gay Brett.

'One night with me will make you say otherwise,' winked Tracey.

Big Gay Brett shivered, despite the crackling fire.

'Yesterday was... a very different time,' Chase gruffly whispered, still staring into the distance, 'and tomorrow is a new day.'

Gareth thought about that for a moment and nodded. He'd hoped tomorrow would be more like this moment around the campfire, as opposed to the day before - something Stefan saw in Gareth's eyes as he strummed the guitar.

'Yesterday,' came a soft voice from Stefan, at that moment, 'all my troubles seemed so far away...'

Gareth seized his chance, having heard this Beatles song plenty a time from his mother.

'Now it looks as though they're here to stay,' he followed.

'Oh, I believe in yesterday,' Chase blinked, his voice strangely hoarse, 'Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be...'

Gareth then sung in unison with Chase and Stefan, their voices very different, but somehow unified.

'There's a shadow hanging over me, Oh, yesterday came suddenly.'

Chase continued, his voice louder than the others.

'Why she had to go? I don't know, she wouldn't say, I said something wrong, Now I long for yesterday.'

And then everyone was joining in bar Sadie, Kelsey and Yammers Junior, who were confused over what song this could possibly be.

'Yesterday... love was such an easy game to play, Now I need a place to hide away, Oh, I believe in yesterday,' Gareth sang aloud, his voice cracking from not just his attempt at singing, but also from how it reminded him of his mother and how he'd done nothing but disappoint her with his antics with Darren and Nathan. He just had to make her proud, somehow.

'Oh, I believe in yesterday...' cracked Chase's voice.

Everyone clapped each other and a few others, mostly Kara and Big Gay Brett, stamped their feet in celebration. Chase stood up and looked around, almost as if he'd lost his way and found himself in a foreign camp of marching members. He blinked. His usual creased brow appeared as his gaze darted down to his strangely rusty looking wrist watch.

'It's 11.00pm. Everyone should have rested their wee weary heads ages ago. A long day awaits us from sunrise and I don't want any complaints that you're hung over or didn't peak with enough slumber. For that reason, breakfast is at 8.00am and we're due for warm ups at 9.00am.'

The cheers escalated at the slightly later start.

Chase turned to Gareth and without saying anything, and with no anger in his face, he nodded. Gareth felt elated, like an entire weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Now all he needed was to lift the one from his ankle, tagged and keeping him in check.

'Come on, my lovely strawberries,' Mandy heaved as she rose from the fallen tree, 'time for lights out.'

Tomorrow was the dawn of a new day.