Inevitably Yours

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“That’s it. One, two, three, four, one, two, three, rest, one,” I counted off for Carl as he concentrated on the music in front of him. He had come a long way, even though I only tutored him two days a week all summer. Carl already knew he would have a hard time for the first season of marching band as he got the hang of not only playing but also marching, but he was ready for it. His mom had insisted on paying me for his lessons even though I told her it wasn’t necessary. I used the money to pay all my band fees for the year and buy new reeds for my saxophone.

“You’re getting better every practice,” I told him as he played the last note of the song.

“I f*****g better be,” he said. “I practice hours every day.”

“Well, don’t overdo it,” I said. I got up and went over to his desk and grabbed our water bottles, tossing one to him. We always practiced in his bedroom; sometimes, I brought one of my instruments to play with him, and sometimes I just instructed.

“I’m kinda sad the parade was canceled this year,” he said after taking a glug of his drink.

“You shouldn’t be. We haven’t even come close to playing and marching in time yet,” I told him. He scowled, knowing I was right. “Speaking of, maybe we should start working on that. I’m pretty sure your section leader is going to have an aneurysm if we don’t get you up to speed.”

Carl stood and set his instrument on his chair. He stretched his arms, reaching almost to the ceiling. “So, you really have to quit running?” he asked.

I looked away from him. “Yea, looks like it,” I admitted.

“If I could help, I would. My parents had to make my sister narrow down her sports this year, too,” he said. Carl’s sister played a lot of sports; they were pretty much opposites.

I shrugged. “It wasn’t going to get me into college or anything,” I said.

“But you liked it, Q,” Carl said. “That is all that should matter.”

“Well, it isn’t,” I sighed. It was embarrassing to admit we couldn’t afford the play fees. My phone rang from its spot on the desk. Carl grabbed it and looked at the caller ID.

“It’s the boyfriend,” he said, raising an eyebrow as he handed it to me. Recently, Jaxx and Carl seemed to be tense around each other.

I silenced the ringer. “I’ll talk to him when we’re done,” I shrugged, slipping it into my pocket.

“He will love that,” Carl said, rolling his eyes.

“I thought you were happy for me….”

“I am, Q,” he sighed. “But I don’t have to love him.”

I started grabbing up my music and books. “Let’s be done for the day. I am supposed to make dinner tonight anyway, and there are a few loads of laundry to fold.”

Carl came over and grabbed my forearm; I stopped, looking up at him. “I’m not picking a fight here,” he said gently. “We all know you’re happy, and that’s amazing. You just spend most of your free time with him.”

“He’s my boyfriend,” I emphasized. “Why wouldn’t I be spending my free time with him? Summer is running out, and I’ll go back to being busy all the time.”

Carl frowned. I pulled my arm from his grasp. “Please don’t be mad, Q.”

“I’m not,” I lied, going back to collecting my things. “Look, let’s squeeze in some extra practice tomorrow morning. I’ll come over around 10.”

“Okay,” Carl said. “My mom wants you to stay for dinner soon.”

“I’ll let you know,” I said, forcing a smile on my face.

–

Carl collapsed on the ground at the side of the field. Christy and I both made our way over to him. “This is so much harder than I thought,” he panted.

“Okay, my instrument is literally four times the size of yours. Buck up,” I laughed.

“And I’m throwing around a metal pole. You can carry that tiny three-pound thing,” Christy added. Carl scowled at us, still breathing heavily. Christy and I put our stuff down and sat next to Carl. Since no one was claiming the bari saxophone spot, the band director let me move to it this year, so I was now part of the bass section comprised of me, the tubas, and the bass guitar. Carl was playing the smallest saxophone, the alto.

“I give you so much credit, Q,” he said, sitting up finally. “I don’t know how you did this in a boot last year.”

“It was muscle memory at that point, but yea, it wasn’t fun,” I said. I adjusted my new harness, which helped disperse the weight of my instrument a little. It wasn’t designed with the female anatomy in mind, but it did distribute the weight more evenly over my shoulders.

“Carl, want to go out to eat with us after practice? Jaxx and Aubree are coming to pick us up,” Christy offered.

“And be the fifth wheel? Pass,” he said.

“I will play matchmaker if you don’t stop complaining,” Christy warned him.

“Unless you are offering to hook me up with that piccolo player,” Carl smirked.

“Laurie?” I asked, surprised. Carl shrugged. “Okay, no. She does my hair every week, and now that I don’t wear a hat, I need her not to avoid me. She braids so much better than me. You can’t date her, break up and make it awkward.”

“Wait, you don’t have to wear a hat?” he asked incredulously. He was not happy when we were given our uniforms a few days prior.

I smiled. “Nope,” I answered excitedly. “Tubas wear berets. No more sweaty bucket hat for me!”

“You know, maybe this band thing wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had….” Carl grumbled. The whistle rang, and it was time to get back to practice. I knew he would have fun as soon as he got the hang of it.

–

The school year started with the same buzzing excitement as it usually did. I called Jaxx before school to tell him to have a good first day of senior year. I was cooking dinner for him that night, but I still wanted him to start his day on a positive note.

Christy was all smiles when she skipped into school, finding me at my new locker relatively quickly. “Why are you so smiley this morning?” I asked.

“I stayed with Bree last night, and he dropped me off this morning,” she gushed. “Goddess, I love him so much.”

“I see the honey-mate phase has yet to wear off,” I teased.

“I hope it never does,” she giggled. “So, what are you doing after school?”

“Cooking Jaxx dinner. My parents have a work thing for my dad, so it’s sort of perfect. We can celebrate him officially being a senior,” I told her.

“I know you guys are in love, but I can’t help but wonder why you aren’t mates. You really seem great for each other,” she said, her eyebrows furrowing. “I will be a little sad when one of you does find your mate.”

“That is a whole lot of what-ifs between now and then,” I told her. “Right now, we’re happy together. Can’t we just leave it there?”

“You’re right,” she smiled. “It’s very different from a year ago. I was worried about you after the whole-” She stopped mid-sentence and looked around.

“We are friends,” I told her firmly. “Maybe things would have been different under different circumstances, but he’s basically my other best friend. That’s it, though; that’s all it can be anyway.” It was starting to feel like I would never have to stop defending that point.

“Just be careful,” she said. “Walk me to my first class?”

“Sure,” I said, closing my locker and slinging my bag over my shoulder. We pushed our way into the growing crowds in the hallway, and the school year began.