#HOWEVER some of my buds got the gist of what it meant so im keeping it

[knockknockitsnickels]

Second Movement Ch 3: Subito Forte

In this chapter, Lila continues to be bad at band practice, until a chat with Alya offers her a new solution! (The solution is kind of obvious)  Thanks to my buddies Ruby, Era, Juggler, Jakob, and Kap for proof-reading! :D First Previous

Over the following few band practices, Lila’s playing continued to be bad. Unfortunately for her, the rest of the band had begun to rapidly improve, making her failures stand out all the more. Under normal circumstances, she probably wouldn’t care. There was probably a whole array of excuses she could use to explain her mediocre playing, and besides, it wasn’t like anyone would get mad at her, right? Who could possibly be that passionate about a high school band?

Chloe could be. 

Lila could practically feel the murderous intent radiating off Chloe from her seat beside her, which frankly didn’t help improve her flute playing at all. She’d only barely managed to avoid a solo confrontation with her, but that wasn’t going to last. Band practice drew to a close, and Chloe grabbed Lila by the arm before she could slip away.

“Listen, you-”

“Heyyy~ You! Goth girl!” Lila turned to the other flute player, desperately trying to wriggle free of Chloe’s grasp. “Nice outfit! You know, I met John Goth personally, and I think he’d really like your-”

The other girl mumbled something about “needing to leave” in response and slipped away, leaving Lila alone to face the wrath of the lead flute player. Chloe scoffed from behind her.

“John Goth? Honestly, you’re pathetic.” 

Lila reluctantly turned to face her, not bothering to try any lies. Chloe wasn’t going to fall for that. “You know, I don’t think Alya would be happy to hear you talking to me this way.”

Chloe’s smirk disappeared, replaced by a glare. “Alya will understand once she gets a clue about what you’re really like. Just because this school is full of naive idiots doesn’t mean I’m going to let you take advantage of them!” 

“Is that what this is about? I thought it was about my flute playing.” 

“It can be about both.” Chloe’s glare deepened. “I know people like you, Rossi. Stay away from my fr- acquaintances. Stay away from my band. Actually, maybe you should just switch to another school.” 

Lila knew people like Chloe, too. Every school had someone like her, a rich kid who thought they could treat everyone however they pleased. What was baffling about Chloe, however, was that people seemed to actually like her. Lila wasn’t really sure how to deal with that. 

She tried to match Chloe’s glare with one of her own. “What’s your problem? It’s just highschool band. You get credit just for showing up.” 

“That attitude is exactly my problem.” Chloe turned away. “I’m done with you. Either get your shit together, or find some other way to waste your time. If I don’t hear any improvement over the next week, I’m telling the instructor.”

“Snitch.” Lila called after her, but the other girl didn’t turn around. Lila groaned. How did she always manage to piss off the wrong people? 

—---------------------------------------

Alya leaned against the school wall, checking her phone one more time. She and Marinette had a group project coming up, and had agreed to meet at the entrance of the gym so they could go home together to work on it. They’d agreed to meet at 3:30. It was 4:30 now, and there was still no sign of Marinette. It wasn’t like it was unusual for her to be a little late - Marinette was a busy girl, and she could be a bit scatterbrained at times. Still, she usually would at least send Alya a text letting her know what was going on, especially if she was taking this long. Alya briefly considered sending her another text, but thought better of it. She’d probably gotten caught up in something. 

Well, now Alya was left with two options: wait for Marinette, or go home. Waiting obviously seemed like the kinder option, but there was no guarantee that her friend would actually show up. Alya loved Marinette, but she could be very forgetful. Still, she didn’t like the thought of just leaving her behind - Marinette was stressed enough as it was. Alya sighed heavily, ruminating over what to do, when she heard footsteps behind her. 

“Oh! Hey Lila. What are you doing here so late?” Lila jumped at the sound of her voice. Alya saw the pen in her hand and sign-up sheet on the wall before her, and made the connection herself. “... You’re trying to sign up for another club?”

“Um. Yes! You see, my friend Micheal Jordan really needs another player on his basketball team, and I told him I wasn’t that good, but I can’t just leave a friend on his own-” 

“Uh, okay?” Alya laughed. “But, uh. You’re signing up for baseball.” 

Lila looked at the sheet in front of her in surprise. “Whoopsies! Well, my eyesight isn’t what it used to be, ever since the napkin incident… Mind pointing me in the direction of the basketball sheet?”

“Well, that’s the other problem… Sign ups ended yesterday.” 

Lila’s face fell. “... Are there any other clubs?”

“Nope, sorry.” Alya gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “School rules. Why are you looking for another extracurricular, anyway? You going for a scholarship or something?”

The other girl shook her head. “No, no, I’m just…” She suddenly sobbed. “Oh, I just can’t be in the band anymore! I’m holding everyone back, just like Chloe says!”

Alya jumped back, surprised by the other girl’s sudden reaction. “Oh, Lila, I’m sorry… Has Chloe been giving you a hard time again?”

Lila nodded, eyes full of tears. “I can’t say it’s not deserved… Honestly, Alya, I appreciate your help, but I can’t keep dragging you all down…”

Alya put her hand on Lila’s shoulder. “Lila. Look at me. You have as much of a right to be in the band as everyone else. If Chloe can’t be a team player, that’s her problem.” 

Lila sniffed, turning her face away. “But… If I make us fail, you’ll all be forced to go to Dominoes…”

“Well…” Alya held back a shudder, not wanting to make Lila feel worse. “Their cheesy bread is okay? Listen, don’t worry about Chloe, alright? I’ll talk to her. The band is just really important to her, and since it’s our last year I think she’s really nervous about losing again.” 

The other girl nodded again, though she still didn’t look at Alya. “Okay… If you want to, I mean. I don’t want to make you go through all this trouble just for lil ol’ me!” 

“It’s no problem, alright? Just remember what I told you. And…” Alya chuckled to herself. “I hope your ‘friend’ Micheal Jordan can find another team mate. If you want, I can introduce him to my friend Bugs Bunny.”

“I’ll let him know. He’s very busy though. Thank you.” Lila finally turned back to Alya, face suddenly expressionless. She seemed to be scrambling for something to say for a moment. “Um. What are you doing here so late, anyway?” 

“Oh, I’m just waiting for Marinette.” Alya glanced down at her phone again. 4:45, and still no updates from her friend. She sighed, and Lila perked up slightly. 

“Oh? Is something wrong?” 

“No, no.” Alya forced a laugh. “Nothing’s wrong! She’s just a little late, that’s all. Happens all the time.” 

“All the time?” Lila asked. “Well gee, I thought she’d be more reliable than that!”

Alya frowned at her. “She is. Marinette’s one of the most reliable people I know, the only problem is that she’s got a lot on her plate, so some stuff tends to slip her mind. It’s not her fault.”

“Oh, of course, I wasn’t trying to imply she was doing it on purpose!” Lila stammered, “But, well, it’s not fair of her to make you wait like this, is it?” “It’s alright, I don’t mind.” Alya lied. “She’s got more important things to do, and I guess I can just… beat my high score in tetris again.”

She hoped she didn’t sound too bitter. Lila was right, it wasn’t fair that Marinette left her to wait like this, but it wasn’t like she was doing it on purpose. 

“Marinette’s a good friend.” She said finally. “I know you two didn’t really click, but trust me, she’s one of the nicest people I know.”

Lila muttered something under her breath that Alya couldn’t hear. “Of course! I believe you.”

“Uh, it sounds like you don’t.” Alya laughed. 

“Well, I’m sure she’s perfectly nice, like everyone keeps saying! I just haven’t seen it yet.” 

Alya sighed. “Listen, Marinette’s just… Passionate about the truth. She can’t stand the thought of anyone she cares about - or even just anyone she knows - getting hurt. That’s part of what I love about her.” If she cares so much, how come she leaves you hanging all the time? A voice whispered inside her brain, but she pushed it aside. “She just goes a bit… Overboard, sometimes.”

“A bit?”

“Just give her a chance! She’ll come around.” Alya smiled. “You know, we fought with Chloe basically throughout ALL of junior high, but look at us now!”

This did seem to pique Lila’s interest. “You fought with Chloe? But she seems so… Easy to get along with!”

Unable to stop herself, Alya burst into laughter. Lila seemed to be trying to contain it, but after a moment she joined in. “She’s not that bad! Really!” Alya finally gasped out. “I’m glad we’re friends now! She can be really sweet when she wants to be!”

“So what makes her want to be?” Lila asked. “I’d like to know how to get on her good side…”

“Well…” Alya trailed off, thinking to herself. “I guess the moment we realized she wasn’t so bad was during the Rat Project, but, uh, you don’t want to repeat that. Trust me.”

“What was the Rat-”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” 

Lila chuckled, but seemed to be thinking to herself. “How bad was Chloe before?”

“Huh?” Alya squirmed slightly. “I… Look, a lot of that was in the past, I’m not gonna dredge up old drama-”

“Oh, no, that wasn’t what I meant!” Lila responded quickly. “I was just wondering, if Marinette can forgive whatever Chloe did, maybe she’ll be able to forget about my, um, artistic exaggerations as well!”

Alya frowned, but nodded. “Honestly, the reconciliation was more on Chloe’s part. I think having to work with Nino kind of forced her to be more of a team player, and once Marinette saw her being nicer to everyone else, she just kind of. Let the past go.”

“And what about you?”

“Ha, honestly, I was probably the last one to forgive Chloe. We still argued a bit, but after a while it honestly became kind of fun.” She smiled to herself. “Like I said, she’s gotten a lot better at actually working with others instead of making them do everything for her, and I think as a result it kind of pisses her off if she thinks someone isn’t pulling their weight.” 

“...It’s so unfair.” In contrast to her earlier melodramatics, Lila’s voice was suddenly quiet and bitter. “I’ve only just started playing! How am I supposed to keep up with everyone else?” 

“Well, I guess you’ve just got to practice! I know, it’s kind of a bummer to be so behind everyone else, but-”

“But I don’t even know where to begin!” Lila moped, turning away. “I can’t do it, Alya. I need to quit.”

“Hey, come on, don’t be like that!” She grabbed the other girl’s hand, trying to stop her from walking away. “Maybe I can help you practice!”

Lila stopped and turned back to Alya. “Really?” Her voice was quiet, and she looked perplexed. “You know how to play the flute?”

“Well, no, but how different can it really be from a trombone, right? You blow into them.” She’d offered her assistance on a whim, but was growing more and more confident by the minute. “Besides, I bet youtube will have some pretty good tutorials!”

“That’s not going to make a difference. Especially with Chloe.”

“Come on, Lila! Like I’ve been saying, Chloe just wants what’s best for the band, and the best way to make that happen is to practice! And I know it doesn’t sound fun, but you’re never going to make any progress if you don’t try!”

The other girl frowned, and for a moment Alya worried she’d crossed a line. There was a moment of silence. “Why do you want me to stay in the band so badly, anyway?” 

“I…” She hesitated. “You shouldn’t feel like you have to quit just because you’re not as good as everyone else. Look, if I’m being too pushy, I’ll leave you alone, but it really seems like you’re only quitting because you feel like you have to. And I’m not okay with that.”

Lila seemed surprised. “Uh… Thanks? Well, I’ve got an appointment- my friend- okay fine we can meet tomorrow.”

Alya grinned. “Awesome! That sounds great, we can try my place, if you want? My siblings might be kind of annoying, though.”

“My place is good.” Lila said. “My mom probably won’t be home, so we’ll have the place to ourselves.”

“Sounds good! Here, let’s exchange numbers.” Alya took out her phone, and the two added each other as contacts. “I’ll see you tomorrow, then?”

Lila nodded. “See you then!”