Sign of the Slayer by Sharina Harris EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author: Sharina Harris
- Language: English
- Genre:Coming of Age Fantasy
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
The Baddest Band in All the Land
Raven
Can a human take part in photosynthesis?
I mean, I am an organism, standing still at attention, grass beneath my
feet. The sun’s gone down, but the bright stadium lights burn through the
darkness of the football stadium. And with all that light and my sweat
dripping to the ground, then yeah… I’d say I’m an unwilling part of
photosynthesis. Not to mention there’s fifty-three of us band members, so
I’m pretty sure our collective buckets of sweat are quenching this dull green
grass’ thirst.
The crowd is rowdy—a deafening blend of claps, chants, and taunts—but
today it seems like a crowd of giants clapping with supersize hands, roaring
in booming voices. It’s like the ground has opened, and I’m flailing in a sea
of noise. I pull in a breath through my nose, release out my mouth, and
count to ten.
Saxophone tucked in the crook of my arm, I cradle my Yamaha like it’s a
newborn baby. Tonight, my instrument feels as heavy as Plymouth Rock.
My forearm shakes under the strain.
Get it together, girl.
I don’t get it together. I can’t. My body doesn’t feel like it’s my own. It’s
like I’ve been spread out and rolled over with a rolling pin.
My skin tingles and twitches at the slightest ruffle from the starched band
suit. Even the neck strap feels like rope burn as it twists, rubs, and digs into
my skin.
Still, I don’t break the line.
If I move, I might as well be dead.
Okay, so I’ve been told I’m a drama queen. To my knowledge, no one’s
ever died from a band director’s baton, although Dr. Jeffries, the band
director, is infamous for tossing his conducting wand like a ninja star when
someone doesn’t know the music. No, any potential death would be out of
embarrassment, because breaking the line would be due to a mistake.
My mistake.
And I never ever make mistakes in public. If I do, I lose my cool, and if I
lose my cool, again, well… I can’t imagine what the State will do to an
eighteen-year-old Black girl. They already proved what they could do to a
twelve-year-old with a short fuse.
The football players sprint past the band, running much more
enthusiastically than they were five minutes ago, when they fumbled the
ball and allowed the other team to score.
“Get off the field with ya tired asses,” someone yells from the stands.
The fans clap, slow and frustrated. Our football team, well…sucks.
Our band, however, does not.
We won the competitions and gained national recognition despite our
small-but-mighty band, which is why we have brand spanking new
uniforms and a charter bus (not that we use it on the regular—but since
we’re playing our rivals, we have no choice but to stunt on them). No one
gives a damn about the football players or the fifty-year-old rivalry between
the Alpine Rattlesnakes and the Texan Wildcats.
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