Chapter Text
“Alright, one more time guys!”
Pomni rolled her eyes. Her coach always said “one more time,” but they never meant “one more time” now did they? The “one more times” just seemed to pile on top of each other after every rep as the coach or band director found something to fix. Saying “Again” instead of that dreadful phrase wasn’t that hard. It seemed leadership was fixated on lying all the time.
Pomni was over it.
She reset to the starting position at a shoulder hip angle, her flag at her side, preparing herself to run the routine yet again.
The rep was over before she knew it and to her surprise, was gifted a water break by the director.
She murmured a “thank you” before practically crashing on the grass field beside the blacktop.
“Yeah, Quinn likes to kill us at band camp that’s for sure. But not to worry! It’ll be okay, we will get through the two weeks!”
Pomni turned to her right to see Ragatha giving her an encouraging smile, though she looked as tired as Pomni was. Pomni took a long sip from her water bottle before replying.
“God, I don’t know if I will make it. It’s only 4:30 and rehearsal doesn’t end until 9. I know we have a dinner break soon but how do you do these long days? We haven’t even made it to the field yet!”
“Yeah, 12-hour days do really take a toll on you, but on the bright side, field rehearsal is a lot easier than sectionals!” Ragatha suddenly looked ecstatic. “Plus, this time at dinner you’ll get to meet all the other sections! They’re quite fun and can lighten up rehearsal!”
Pomni considered her new friend’s input. Perhaps it would be better meeting others sooner than later. She was nervous in new social situations, but she swore she’d abandoned the feeling when she picked a college in the middle of nowhere in a place she knew nobody from her high school would be. Pomni also knew she would be surrounded by all of the band kids this morning when she found out her dorm was placed in the “band house.” Yeah, moving in this morning and then going straight to band practice was a type of whiplash she had never experienced before. Thank God the coach started the guard on flag first instead of whatever weapons they used here.
Ragatha had been the first person she had met here. She had waved warmly as Pomni approached her door in the band house. Ragatha had beamed when she realized Pomni was not only her roommate, but also in the colorguard as well. She helped Pomni move in and lead her to sectionals at noon time.
“I look forward to meeting them Ragatha, but I think I might die from exhaustion before I make it to dinner.” Pomni chugged more of her water.
“Oh, it will be okay. Just keep pushing! That is how you get better!” Ragatha’s attention was pulled to the coach who was beckoning the guard back to practice. “We have field time tonight with the whole band, it’ll be a nice break from sectionals, trust me.” She got up, leaving Pomni to quick scramble to get back to the block.
30 more minutes. You can survive 30 more minutes.
When Pomni tossed her 45, she decided she just might collapse again before dinnertime.
I hope Ragatha is right about field time.
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Pomni was ready to take a nap in the grass by the time sectionals concluded at 5pm, but she managed to walk with Ragatha to the “Royal Dining Hall” which didn’t seem on par with the name at all.
“Make sure you always check your bread; the workers here don’t always catch the mold growing on it. And don’t eat the chicken unless it is the morning of the football games. We call it ‘game-day chicken’ and I swear it is the only time the chicken is safe to eat.” Ragatha was making her salad meticulously while telling her the rules of the dining hall quite nonchalantly for being in the place in question.
“…And I pay $10,000 in tuition each semester for this!?” Pomni was outraged by this information, and trying to process how she would get through 4 years of this food.
“Yeah, the food here isn’t the greatest, but as long as you check it, it should be fine to eat. If you’re ready we can meet the others!” Ragatha gestured for Pomni to follow her.
Pomni followed her friend through the dining hall. She made it easy with her light purple tank top. As she followed, she did her best to stay calm amongst all the new people she was moving around. Everyone seemed to be chatting with each other, with some playfully making wild gestures toward their friends or the food.
Pomni was trying not to feel self-conscious of her every move, looking down at herself to make sure none of her salad made it onto her black tank top or black shorts. Embarrassing herself before meeting anyone new was not something she wanted to happen. She prayed she could be normal enough around the others to make friends. The last thing she needed was to be completely alone here. She at least had Ragatha, but how pathetic was it to have your only friend be your roommate?
Plus, Ragatha would graduate in two years. So, it was simply not an option to stay hidden in the shadows anymore.
Ragatha finally stopped at a circular table where Pomni saw a trio goofing around with their food and two others sitting and chatting with each other.
“Hey guys! How were sectionals for you?” Ragatha moved to sit down with her salad, unfazed by the childishness displayed at the table. (Were they not all adults here?)
The frog in the trio was the quickest to respond. Clad in green, she looked sweet, but the way she was speaking was quite intense.
“Oh, Ragatha, it was absolutely awful. The band director has obviously never tapped on a drum before, otherwise he would know that we can’t just switch up our grip on our sticks just ‘because it would be easier.’” The girl was wildly imitating the band director with the most sass Pomni has ever seen out of someone. “Good God, I’ve never heard of anything so stupid before in my life. It’s traditional grip or nothing. Don’t change up how we hold our sticks just because you feel like you know best. I’ve been drumming for ten years, you’ve never tapped to a met correctly. We are not the same.”
“Ribbit its fiiiiiiiiiiiiiine. I told Caine to fuck off and that was the end of it. No worries anymore.” The purple rabbit flicked his ears back as he spoke to the frog. He turned his attention back to the ragdoll, gaze flickering to Pomni before taunting. “Who’s the new sucker you brought with you today Rags? You know I’m always eager to make good impression on the freshman.”