Band Baja

One school year I had this sudden interest to become a part of the school band.Maybe the prim and uniformed band girls and boys invoked my interests.The process was simple.I just had to register my name for the band training and if I did well I would be in the school band.Ah a cake walk! I observed.And it was, until the classes began!

Hanging out with known faces and other wannabes was something.But to be able to play the instruments,another.The band master gave me the option of choosing between the drums and trumpets.Since trumpets reminded me of puffed cheeks and elephant trumpets themselves I opted for the drums.And I had always believed that I gelled well with wind instruments.

Imagining myself in those red and blue checked skirts drumming away to the National Anthem and leading the whole school in the drill ,I lifted a drum.Mannn! Was it not heavy!!.How in the whole world did they do it???I succeeded in getting its strings around my neck.As it hung against my body I felt the full force of it and my shoulders slumped.Before I fell with the drum crushing me down, I got my friend to remove it out of me.

But Lakshmi was not going to go back and tell everyone that she quit the band classes as she could not carry one of those puny drums.But then I could not be in the band drill drumming away while someone else carried it for me.So there I was.Back to where I started.Only those trumpets could save my face.Maybe I thought, trumpet was what was meant for me and I could get to play the whole National Anthem's background music unlike those dumb drums.Now that was something I had not thought of before.Bingo!Trumpets!My thing!

Now trumpets were not feather light but atleast I could carry it about.The band master must have realised from the start that I would not get anywhere anyway or he cared less.All the same he did not discourage me from trying out the trumpets.

He explained that for the first week I would have to try and get the windy sound outta the thing.Now that was quite a blow- because I had believed that I would be playing the tunes from day 1- especially when I tried blowing through it the results were either sound of wind through an hose or if lucky, the sound of blowing the nose when you have cold.Patience girl,Patience I told myself.Let us try for a week.Nothing happens in a day.

I continued the ritual for 3 days.The sound from the instrument began to become more audible with the more time I put into it.But on the third day I had lost all my wind ,blowing wind into it and I had my decision.I was quitting before my lungs blew up or I developed a heart attack.And just imagine how it would sound, if it did.Please!I wanted to die in style.

I dropped out.I did not bother to tell the band master what my reasons were.The last I heard from him was via a friend who said that he had asked for me."So are you getting back?"She had asked on his behalf.Err..well..ESCAPE!!!!