Chapter 11
During lunch, Nick sat by himself at the only table that was left empty. They were served pre-made sandwiches that the school provided for that day. His was just plain ham and cheese and he was pretty sure the cheese was slightly off, but he didn't mind.
Miss Bradley stood in front of the students as they were all finishing their lunch, "Alright, class. Time to sort you all into the camp teams. You will have 15 minutes to come up with the most creative name as well as a team chant. Use of instruments are allowed, but there must be at least one member chanting. The teams are as follows. Please gather at one table before we let you go. Team 1: Alex, Liam, Nathan, Drew and..." Miss Bradley paused for a moment as her expression darkened slightly, "Nick..."
Nick's eyes began darting around to try and find the other 4 boys. They'd probably come to him since his table was practically empty. He saw Liam and Nathan sitting at the same table looking like they were in despair while they were being "comforted" by the others. Drew was sitting among a table of girls that were giggling at him as he sat with an awful look on his face as if he was about to punch someone, his lips pursed. Nick finally found Alex who was already looking at Nick. Nick looked away quickly in a sudden surprise before bringing his eyes back to Alex who was still staring at him but with a wide grin, laughing to himself at Nick's easy fluster. He rose from his seat and started to Nick's table, his hands in his pockets with a slight swagger in his step. Nick was watching him with hawk eyes and a frown. He rolled his eyes when he sat next to him and groaned under his breath.
"Hey, Piano Boy. Looks like we're together for the camp," He said excitedly as he gave Nick a friendly punch on the shoulder. "Yea, whatever," Nick said without a care. Miss Bradley was still calling out teams as the other students began to stand up and wander to their tables. The other three boys finally arrived and took their seats silently.
"You may now begin!" the teacher exclaimed as the room had settled. Every student but Nick darted to their rooms to grab their instruments. Nick just realized that he didn't have one.
"Um... Miss Bradley? Is there a piano here?" Nick said. "Through that door then through the door on the left," She said. Nick got out of his chair to check out the room. Well, she was right. There was a grand piano covered in dust from years of not being played. He lifted the lid and pressed the lowest key beginning to climb up the keys in a chromatic scale until he reached the highest C. Shit. It's still all in tune. He patted his hand on his thigh to brush the dust off his finger tips he had accumulated on the keys.
He turned around to go find Alex to tell him there's a piano here that they can use to work on a song. As soon as he was about to exit the doorway, a large figure ran into him, Nick bumping his head on his hard chest. The violin was dropped from the guy's hand. Nick swiftly like a ninja grabbed the boy's shirt by the chest and bent backwards on one foot reaching behind his head and miraculously grasped the neck of the instrument. Nick stood there on one foot, hand on the guy's chest as he was bent backwards surprised at how he managed to just catch the violin. He slowly unarched his back, gently put his foot back on the ground and looked in front of him to see it was Alex with a shocked smile on his face, green eyes dancing between Nick and the violin in his hand. Nick blushed and let go of his shirt before turning around to walk back over to the piano.
"I-I did gymnastics when i was younger," Nick said embarrassed. "What were you, a country champion?!" Alex said impressed, "That violin was 50k, thank god you caught it. My parents would have killed me." Nick looked back at Alex handing him his violin, "Okay, Mr. Rich. No need to flex." Alex laughed as the rest of their group walked into the room, their faces cringed slightly seeing Nick.
"So, any ideas for a name?" Liam asked. He was a short skinny boy with red hair, his skin pale. "Let's just go with The Prodigies. My brother used it when he went here. Easiest points he ever gained for his team." Drew said. Drew was about the same height as Nick with blonde, curly hair and blue eyes. He had a large scar on his cheek that goes down to his jawline as if someone had ripped his skin like paper. That's probably how he got it to be honest, Nick thought to himself.
"Fair enough. Lets get going on this chant shall we. We only have 12 minutes now," Nathan said looking at his phone. He had perfectly slicked brown hair to the side. He was fairly tan Nick noticed looking at him. "Well what should the chant be about? Kid prodigies?" Alex asked. "I mean we could just use big composer's names because most of them were geniuses anyway," Nick suggested.
"Good idea, Nick," Nathan replied. Nick was surprised by the compliance from him. Maybe they just accepted the fact that they were stuck with him and just gave up. It's probably for the best. They got to work figuring out nice backings with the instruments after coming up with a short rap/chant.
Tchaikovsky's got the brains
But nothing on Mozart
Yea, Beethoven's got fame
But none of those chumps have anything on us prodigies.
The five boys were all laughing at the stupidness off their lyrics that ended with a large Bb 7th chord throughout the quartet of instruments. It was decided that Nick would chant because they couldn't exactly just flip a piano on its side and bring it out. Alex and Nathan were both on violin, Liam on flute and Drew played the double bass which gave their song a much needed filling. They headed to the gathering room where most of the teams were waiting. The last team arrived right after Nick's. They all sat in their teams still discussing minor details.
"Alright, team Strings, you're up first." Miss Bradley called from across the room. Their instruments consisted of two violins, a viola and a cello. The last member was standing looking nervous as hell, her hair sticking to her forehead from sweat as they began.
Their chant wasn't exactly... A chant... It was more of a roughly put together opera solo. Although, the instrumentation was spot on. The other teams went on until The Prodigies turn came last. The five boys stood up and walked to the front. Whispers arose as they walked. Nick's hands all of a sudden became extremely clammy. There was a big thud on his shoulder. He turned to see Alex smiling at him.
"You'll do great. Just be confident." Nick rolled his eyes and smiled back with a nod. They all got into their positions as the instruments began playing, the flute with a heavenly melody above the others. Nick was about to start singing. He'd never really sung before but he was in tune and got all the right notes earlier. He loosened slightly before he began strutting up in front of the other students. His voice began echoing in the large room.
He finished in the middle of the stage with his arms crossed over his chest like a 2000's rapper as their chant came to an end.
Silence.
Complete. Silence
Shit. That was terrible wasn't it? Nick thought. His body stiffened as he waited for a response.
Suddenly the students applauded them with cheers and whistles among clapping. Nick relaxed and smiled, turning to the other boys. They were all smiling and laughing too. Nick joined in as he received firm pats on the back from Alex.
"That was fucking baddass, Piano Boy," Alex said. "Thanks, man." Nick said. They all high-fived each other as they went and sat down again.
Miss Bradley stood in front of the students and began announcing 3rd, 2nd and 1st place for the chant competition. The Strings surprisingly managed to get second place from the panel of judges that consisted of Miss Bradley and the other camp managers.
"And in first place... The Prodigies!" Miss Bradley yelled.
"YES!!" the five boys all cheered in unison as the other students congratulated them. Nick locked eyes with Alex where they both just smiled with large, toothy grins.
I think everything's gonna be okay, Nick thought to himself for the first time in a while, Yea, it'll be fine...