I don’t plan on waking up to the obnoxious sound Kevin playing guitar and singing the Duck Tales theme song. Honest to God, it isn’t even on my to-do list. Here I am, laying on my stomach, on an air mattress that we had to share last night, in the middle of the choir room, too out of it to focus on anything. I blink multiple times and put on my glasses as I look at the digital clock on the wall. Dammit, it’s just past two forty-five in the morning, no one should even be conscious at this hour. I sigh and sit up, knowing that the more he sings, the more likely I am to shove that guitar up his a**.
"Wakey wakey, boys. It’s a wonderful day for a band competition!"
The other guys whine and groan, shoving their heads underneath their pillows in order to make the hell that is Kevin’s cracking voice go away. This is why he took band instead of choir.
"Why so glum, chums? Let’s get this show on the road, we have to leave in less than thirty minutes."
"What time is it anyway?" A kid asks.
"Two something."
"Jesus, Mr. Reilly. I’m goin’ back to sleep," the same kid says as he falls back on to his sleeping bag.
I watch my brother pick up his bottle of water and carefully sneak up to the kid on the floor. He presses his index finger to his lips, whispers something I can’t understand, and then dumps little streams of water on him. The kid immediately jumps up and screams "S***!" He’s huge, bigger and taller than me, which makes him look like he can knock me out with one punch.
"That’s what you get for not listening, Hugh. Hurry up." Now, Kevin’s serious, his eyes narrow behind his glasses and the smile disappears.
I’m still sitting up, trying to prepare myself for the day ahead. I feel a hand on my shoulder and glance up to see Kevin hovering over me. He’s already dressed, wearing a plain button-down shirt, khaki’s that look a bit too big for him, and his infamous navy green jacket. His hair, even though it’s short, is standing up in every direction and he has dark circles around his eyes. "Why are you so tired?" He asks me.
I yawn. "Maybe it’s because it’s not even three in the morning and you were on top of me all night."
He ignores me. "You better get ready. I don’t want my drum major to miss the bus." Kevin pats my back and then walks out of the room to wake the girls up.
The choir room is a disaster. There are plastic cups, blankets, pillows, food crumbs, backpacks scattered across the floor. It smells like body odor and a** mixed together, which tells me that these teenage boys have not yet discovered the power of a shower and some cologne. I pick up my clothes and strip down to my boxers. I would normally care if other guys were watching me change, but by the time I realize what I’m doing, it’s too late. I throw on a pair of jeans, the band’s show shirt, and my black jacket, and that’s all that’s to it. Kate would have taken over an hour to get this done, but since I showered last night, I’m good to go in seconds.
After I put my contacts in, I help the kids load the bus, and then help the drumline check their equipment on the trailer. Kevin, without the help of his newly arrived boss Michael, makes sure that we’re on schedule and we leave right on time. He might be crazy, but he is structured.
~
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"He’s huge, bigger and taller than me, which makes him look like he can knock me out with one punch."
I would make this sentence much more concise.
"khaki’s"
khakis.
I sort of slowed down when I saw that Kevin had access to the girl’s room. Is Kevin the main character’s brother? I had trouble figuring that out. There is a teacher somewhere, but I’m not 100%sure who it is.
Oh, and you used "a**" twice in the excerpt. Swears are like chile peppers, it’s easy to overdo it.
I think you did pretty well. I feel like the males were believable. The description of Kevin was apt. I don’t know much about the main character yet, but since I don’t think I am in the target demographic of the book, I would still care about my connection to him keeping me engaged in the book.