Artisic Rock

This is something I wrote for class.

Artistic Rock!

-Hannah Ackerman ‘16

Anna stood on the sidelines with her colorguard, waiting for her cue to enter the field. She smiled as she held the flags in her arms. It was her senior year, her last performance of the season. Anna was going to make every second count.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, please welcome Chance Lake High School Marching Band! The band is under the direction of Mr. Wayne Andrews, Color guard done by Wilma Michaels, and Helena Lorenzen. Drumline work by Nick Trevor. Your drum majors are Ophellia Olson , Shane Zander, and Daliah Heart. This year's show is Artistic Rock. Band you may take the field for competition!”, boomed the announcer.

The announcer's words gave Anna the rush she needed. Anna ran to her spot, put down her group's flags and then went to set up her own equipment. She ran to her first set, her arms in a box- like style, with her hands on the pole and the silk. Anna smiled and listened for her entrance; sixteen counts into the first song. In her head, all she was thinking was one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, one, two, etc.  Her moves were flawless, every hit was right on time, every toss was perfect. She wasn’t out of step and she didn’t drop her flag once. By the end of the first song, she hadn’t made a single mistake.

Anna’s perfect streak continued, until it came time for the third song. She had just learned some new dance work. The whole crowd was watching her as she took her first step out for her solo. She stood dead center in the field. The band was split and she was out in the middle, on her own. Anna marched to her spot, performed her routine, then froze. She realized she had started too early.

“Oh crap” Anna knew she had to play it cool, but she was panicking.

‘Okay, so I’ll just hold this move until the music gets to the right spot.’ She nodded to herself. Anna held her move until it was the correct time for her solo to start.

After the last song, Anna ran out to grab all the flags and equipment that she could hold. Knowing she was being timed, she carried them off the field as quickly as possible . Anna expected her instructor to be mad at her and the guard. She waited for her to mention something to her that night, but never did.

After putting away her equipment, Anna approached her instructor and asked, “Did you see my solo?”

Her instructor smiled, “I did and it was amazing, I couldn't be prouder of you.”

Anna instantly felt better and smiled big, “Thank you so much Wilma! You have taught me everything and I couldn’t have done it without you!” She gave her   tight hug, then headed back to where the rest of the guard was.

The last band had performed and  it was time for awards. Anna was the most excited for the Best Guard Caption Award. Her band sat in their special spot on the hill, creating a giant CL and everyone in the bleachers could see it. The whole guard gripped each other's hand as the heard the words “And Best Guard goes to... “, everyone was nervous and holding their breath. There was a small, but never ending silence, “Chance Lake High School Color Guard!”

Her whole team jumped up and hugged each other, Anna was almost in tears. The Guard had worked so hard for this moment and here it was. It was the climax of her Senior year, and maybe her whole high school career. After a few minutes of cheering, everyone quieted down as they waited to see what their band would place.

They heard the announcer say, “first place in Class 4A goes to Los Altos High School!”. The band look puzzled, how had they not placed but had gotten Best Guard? The guard looked at each other confused and worried.

“The overall winner of The Waukee Invite Competition is…. Los Altos High School!”, cheered the announcer. Her band got up and headed back to the bus, she was so confused as to why this had happened. They got best guard, but yet they didn't place. When Anna walked onto the guard bus, the whole team cheered.

“Anna we did it! We got best guard!”, they exclaimed. She just smiled and nodded. They had that to be excited about if anything. She joined in her team, the whole way home thats all they talked about was their win. They had done their best, and at least the guard came out on top.

Author's Note

Please tell me whats wrong with it.