Free Notes From An Accidental Band Geek by Erin Dionne

said. “And you should too.” She came in and gave me a kiss, but I caught the worried look on her face. Fear crawled around in my stomach. How was I going to get anything done for tomorrow?
    “Yep,” I said, faking calmness. “Guess I fell asleep while I was reading.” I picked up Emma —which was so far away from my hands that I would have had to toss it to the end of the bed while I “fell asleep” reading it—and gestured at my mother with it.
    “Okay, then,” she said, and closed the door behind her.
    After changing into my “I’ll be Bach” T-shirt and fuzzy yellow pj pants, and brushing my teeth, I felt more together. I organized my assignments into the Must Complete Tonight pile and the Can Wait pile. Must-dos: math problems, history questions, start lab report. I moved off my bed and sat on the floor to attack algebra.
    An hour and a half later, I could barely keep my eyes open and it looked as though a first grader wrote my history assignment. I rubbed my face.
    Downstairs, the front door opened. Dad was home.
    Crud! I hoped he hadn’t seen my light. The last thing I needed were questions from him—or, I realized a second later—more questions from my mom when he told her that I’d been up. I swept the books into a pile and hopped into bed, clicking the light off.
    A light tapping came at my door. I ignored it, pulling the covers over my head.
    “Elsie?” The door opened a crack. I made my breathing slow and steady.
    Dad stood there and I tried not to move. After a second came a whispered “Love you, pumpkin,” then the door clicked closed. The whistled chorus of “Ode to Joy” floated behind him. A bittersweet zap hit my heart, and my eyes filled with tears that I didn’t let fall.
     
     
     
    My alarm went off what felt like two seconds later. I slapped the clock radio snooze button at least three times and finally dragged myself out of bed when I heard my mom coming up to check on me. Getting ready and out the door was awful—even after a purposely-chilly shower, I was still groggy and sluggish and my mom kept giving me looks like she wanted to say something, but didn’t. I wished my parents would allow me to drink coffee.
    By the time the bus arrived at HeHe, I’d woken up a little. The crisp October air and bright sunshine had helped. I made my way to my locker.
    “Hey, Elsie!” Hector waved at me from across the hall and came to lean against the locker bank next to mine. “Yikes! A little rough around the edges?” he asked once he got close enough to get a good look at me—hair a wreck, permanent scowl, and bloodshot eyes.
    “Gee, thanks,” I muttered, not trying to hide the sarcasm dripping from my voice. “Do those observations win you many friends?”
    Hector backed up a step or two. Ouch. Maybe that was too harsh.
    “I’m really tired,” I tried again. I crammed a few books into my locker and grabbed my notebook.
    “I guess,” Hector said, frowning. “See you at lunch.” The first bell rang and he disappeared into the crowd. Great. Now I felt bad about my behavior on top of feeling gross in general. This was turning out to be a winner of a Wednesday. I trudged toward homeroom.
    Wednesday.
    Wednesday. What was it that made Wednesday stick in my head?
    Midstride, I froze. And barely heard the snide “Freshman !” snarl from a sophomore girl who almost fell over me.
    Today was Wednesday. Our first field show competition was Saturday, and we had a dress run-through this afternoon. I was supposed to bring my hat! Ice slid through my veins. What band-o-rific punishment would I be given? Running laps wearing a cape? Clucking the 1812 Overture?
    Around me, the halls were emptying. Hatless or not, if I wanted to make it to homeroom before the late bell, I’d have to sprint.
    At lunch, I rushed to our table, stack of unfinished homework under my arm and stomach churning from worrying all morning. I wanted to beat Steve there so I could discuss my problem with Jake,