Murder In The Band Room

Murder in the Band Room It was a typical night in the band rom. Everything was quiet except for the scratching of a pencil across a peice of paper and the occasional squeak of a nearby mouse. Mr. Martin had been working the past five weeks on possibly the greatest marching show that Tachikara, Georgia has ever seen! The Tachikara marching band hasn't won a competition since 1986 when Mr.Marshal was the director. Since then, their luck has gone down hill. As Mr.Martin continues to work, he doesn't notice a dark, ominus shadow pass behind him. Loud sirens ring through the air as police and ambulences rush to the scene of the crme. Mr.Martin lays over his work not moving or breathing. Several oboe reeds are jabbed into his back and a screwdriver is thrust into his chest. After several weeks of mourning, the band kids finally speak to each other. "I never thought something like this would ever happen in such a small town." said Sophie Pearson (second chair oboe). "I know. It was so unexpected." wispered Clair Holly (first chair clarinet) in a cracking voice. All of a sudden, Shane Dawson (percussion) runs up and says "I got it!" "You know who killed him?!?!" exclaimed Clair. "What! No! I got an amazing idea!" "Well tell us what it is!" said Sophie excidedly. "Lets finish writing the show Mr.Martin started!" "Youv'e gotta be kidding. That's crazy!" said Clair. "Yeah. Almost crazy enough to work!" said Sophie (already making plans in her head). For the next month the trio worked harder than they ever have.They wrote visuals and formations and planned practices. Finally after two months of work the show was ready. "All band members please report to the band room." The announcement rang over the intercom. In the small room, eighteen students sat wondering what was going on. Finally, Shane, Clair, and Sophie stand up and start to explain why they are meeting. When they finished, nobody said anything. Many of them appeared to be impressed with the idea. The remainder of them had a blank look. Slowly, one by one the sudents began to murmer their thoughts to one

another. The flutist (Nikki) walked up to Sophie, Clair, and Shane. With a grin on her face she said: "We think it's a brilliant idea." They continued the meeting with several disscusions about when and where practice would be held, who would supervise and help at competitions, and who would keep the team focused. The first weeks of practice went surprisingly well. They reviewed fundementals and set the entire first song. With the rate they were going, they were sure to be one of the best bands on the feild. After a month of practice, the first football game finally arrived. Shelby and Amy (color guard) were ecstatic to find their uniforms had come in just in time for the game. They had decided to title their show 'Unsolved Mysteries'. As they marched on the feild, everyone stared in disbeleif. A marching band without a band director seemed impossible! Everyone stood up and clapped when they finished. The compliments and questions seemed never ending. One day at practice, Tractor was watching the rest of the band march to be sure our step sizes and styles were the same. "Your out of step Sophie!" He yelled in an angry voice. She corrected herself immediatly. "Your horn angle is wrong Nikki!" He snapped. After practice Nikki, Sophie, and Mauri (trumpet) sat together and talked about how Tractor all of a sudden became so imperious. He used to be friendly and benevolent. It just didn't make sense why he was just provoking the flute and oboes. They planned on confronting him the next day. "Tractor can we talk to you?" asked Sophie. "Looks like you already are so yes." he replied sarcasticly. "We don't think it's fair that you only pick on me and Sophie." Nikki declared. "Whatever do you mean Nikki? I would never treat my fellow band members unfairly. Now if you will excuse me I have to go to my english class." He lied. Nikki and Sophie couldn't believe that Tractor acctually expected them to be manipulated so easily. They knew he would never get away with it. Sophie talked to everyone in band and they all agreed that Tractor was a completly different person now. In conclusion, they came up with the perfect plan. For the next two weeks, nobody showed up for practice except Tractor. When everyone decided to come back to practice, Tractor was

infuriated. He became stricter than ever. Finally the bands patience ran out. Several students threatened to quit band if he didn't appologize and stop being so tyrannica. At last he gave in. "Look guys. Im sorry for the way I've been acting lately. I just really think we are going to win this year." The first competition was on that next saturday. The band nervously dressed and prepared for what may or may not come. It seemed like it took hours for the announcer to introduce them. There was a loud applause from the crowd as they performed and afterwards people were crying for the dead band director that would never see this magnificent show. They held their breath as the results were being announced. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. They just stood there waiting, praying, wishing. "Third place calss A is...Applejack Highschool Marching Band!" The crowd cheered then once again fell silent. "Second place class A is...Candyland Highschool Marching Band!" Everyone in the crowd did the wave then sat back down. A smile spread across Nikki's face. First place class A is...Tachikara Highschool Marching Band!" The crowd roared in excitement. The band jumped up and down hugging eachother. You could feel the happiness in the air. As the practices went on the band got lazier as if the competitions were going to win themselves! At the last competion before regionals, they were awarded last place and were disappointed. At last Tractor put his foot down. "Do you want to win?" He yelled. "Yes." The band answered in unison. "I didn't hear that. I said, Do you want to win!" He repeated. ` "YES!" They yelled back. "Then we need to get ourselves together. We have been slacking the past few days and at this rate we'll never make it to semis." Everyone nodded in agreement. On the day of regionals, the sun seemed to rise like a flower opening to show off its beautiful elaborant petals. Even the little squirells could tell it was going to be a wonderful day. As 8:00am rolled around, the band slowly began to arrive. Rehersal went great but the bus ride was silent. The crowd exploded with applause as they entered the feild. The first song was played moderatly fast but it was still lovely. The second song was sweet and slow. It reminded Shelby of a beautiful garden with roses flowing like fountains and cherry trees and every kind of flower you could imagine. The last song was fast and ended with a sudden 'dut'!

It seemed as though fireworks were shooting off with loud bursts of excitement as they exploded in the sky while celebrational music was playing in the background. That was the best performance all season! Then everything fell silent. They were awarded second place and best percussion. They felt they could do better but were content. Meanwhile, police continue searching for the murdered. They found a hair at the scene of the crime and DNA tested everyone in the school. It was traced back to Sophie. "Sophie. Where were you on the night of the murder?" asked the attorney. "I was in my room doing homework." she replied. "Are there any witnesses to this?" Sophie's mother raised her hand to comfirm what her daughter said was true. After the trial, Sophie was found innocent. She went home and wondered how her hair got in Mr.Martin's office. She never went into his office! Then she remembered the day Nikki pulled her hair and ran into his office. Could Nikki be the killer? "Did you kill Mr.Martin?" Bob asked. "No." she replied. The lie detecter machine slowly marked one the graph. The results came in and she was also innocent. Nikki wondred who would try to frame her. Then all of a sudden it came to her. Tractor. He was the obvious suspect! The day of semis slowly approached. The band was both excited and scared at the same time. As the week rolled by Nikki and Sophie planned their revenge on Tractor. The girls searched high and low for proof that Tractor was the murderer. Sophie found the screwdriver used in the muder and screamed. Nikki picked it up and found Tractor's name written in small, block letters. They rushed into the police station. The trial took three hours before he was proven guilty. At last someone asked the big question. "Why did you do it?" asked amy. "He took away my horn solo." Everyone gasped in horror and disbeleif. What a stupid thing to kill someone over! He was sentanced fourteen years in jail and required to take anger management classes. Meantime, the band is hurrying to get dressed. They rush onto the

feild and give the best performance ever. They get first place in finals.

The End

-Ashley Harris