Lauren waked into the restaurant, and she smirked at the horrified look on the hostesses face. Quickly she beckoned for tables to be pulled together and chairs arranged around them. Lauren smiled and nodded. The staff knew the faces of the band kids, especially the ones that frequented the restaurant after practice. They also knew that if one was coming in sweaty and in practice clothes around 9:45-10:00 PM, that many were soon to follow. Lauren headed over to the newly arranged mega-table. Taking her seat, she wondered who else would show. I'm surprised no one is actually here yet. The after practice dinners weren't designated to just seniors or leaders or anything like that. It was a known fact that you congregated there after practice, and that anyone with a car would take you. Some nights it was a giant party, and some it was just 5 or 6 people. It depended on whose mothers were being overbearing, and who was just exhausted. This how the band was. This is how the family was. No one was excluded from things like this.

Glancing over the menu she knew what she wanted to eat. But she'd wait until more people arrived. The bouncy little blonde waitress sauntered over and gave her little spiel about her name and be oh-so-happy to serve them tonight. After asking for Lauren's drink order, there was a slight pause. It was a toss up between the strawberry lemonade and the mango tea. Thinking about it she finally decided, "I'll take the mango tea."

"Alright it'll be right up," the girl said and then bounced away. Lauren wasn't quite sure how anyone could have that amount of energy at the moment. Then again, not everyone had just been in band, and had to deal with her drill spots. With a sigh, she thought to it. Being a senior, she was assigned one of the harder spots. Actually, just being a good marcher she was assigned that, because she had a "difficult" spot the previous year as well. But this year's show was a few notches above the last year. In truth, it was harder than anything this band had ever even attempted. But she loved it. Loved the music, and the drill.... it made her want to start performing already. And it definitely made her proud to be a student leader. Bouncy blonde waitress came back with her drink and Lauren murmured a thank you. Taking a sip, she muttered under her breath, "This is going to be the year. I can feel it."