Hershey Part 3

And now...the third of many installments.

Part 3: Voice Exercises
We had just left the pool, and gone to our rooms to change out of our soggy bathing suits and have some dinner. After dinner, we would get ready for our performance that evening.
In our room, Stephenie, Brandi and I brushed our hair, and changed back into our clothes. I put my blue Native American t-shirt back on, along with the pair of periwinkle blue gym shorts I had worn to walk to the pool. Then we headed down to Mr. Burke's hotel room, where pizza and soda were being served. We paid Mr. Burke our share of the pizza (about 2 to 3 dollars) and had a picnic right in the hall of the hotel, enjoying pizza with everything on it (except anchovies) and lukewarm Coca Cola. This was the second time I had pizza that day, for lunch and dinner, and let me tell you, it was damn delicious!

After we ate, the members of the choir went to Ms. Westbrook's room to collect our matching periwinkle polo shirts. The shirts had "BFHUS Chamber Singers" embroidered in dainty lettering, over the heart. Under the words, musical notes danced about. Back at my room, I changed into my classy black dress pants, polo shirt, black dress socks and patent leather ankle-strap wedges. I did my make-up, and put in my porcupine quill and amethyst earrings, the stones carved into the shape of a bear totem. Then Stephenie clipped my blue and white beaded barrette in my hair, the one I normally wear for pow-wows. The design was a symbol for the Mohawk tribe, which works, because I'm Mohawk and Abenaki. We were not allowed to wear any perfume, since we didn't want anyone's allergies to act up while singing.

When we were ready, we left our rooms and waited in the hotel lobby for the rest of the band and choir. But none of them showed up. It turns out that we had been waiting in the wrong place the entire time! We had no idea where the group or the bus was supposed to be! The hotel became a maze, and soon I found myself and some other girls from both the band and the choir running around frantically, trying to find an exit where the bus would be. I remember running down plenty of stairs in pinching dress shoes. Eventually we found the bus.

On the bus, I checked myself in the bathroom mirror. Something about my hair seemed odd, it didn't look like it was supposed to. Then, with horror I realized my special barrette had broken, leaving the clip tangled in my hair and the intricately beaded barrette missing! For one horrible moment, I thought it was in the toilet, or that I had lost it while running for the bus. I made my way back to my seat, choking on my anxiety. I was starting to panic. Ms. Westbrook, remembering my big, tearful panic attack from last year (caused by my roommate deciding she didn't want to share a room with me, but rather with a chain-smoking choir skank, who I was not particularly fond of.), tried to keep me calm. Thankfully, before my panic level could rise, either Olivia or Courtney found my barrette under their seat. I took the two broken pieces, and seeing that they could not be fixed, put them in my bag. I wasn't sure how my clip had broken, but silently concluded that it had something to do with the way my hair had been pulled back. Then Stephenie French-braided my hair for me, since I did not want it in my face during the performance. She pulled very tightly on my hair, making me cry out in pain. But in the end, Miss Westbrook told me I looked lovely, so it was worth it all the suffering.
The choir was supposed to perform first. We held a warm-up on the bus, I was hoping that we'd win like we did last year. I even prayed silently. We sang through our repertoire, which consisted of our warm up song and our two songs for judging.

Like I mentioned earlier, the competition was held at a local high school. To our chagrin, we found we were not to be given a private room to warm up in like we did last year, nor did we have the time to get some water.
So we were ushered out onto the stage. Thankfully, the judges decided to give us some time to do another warm-up. First, we did some voice exercises and then we did some stretches, wiggling our bodies and rotating our necks. We did the physical exercise, trying to loosen up in the belief that if bodies were relaxed then we would perform better. We also gave each other quick neck and shoulder rubs, as was our tradition. The gentle massage adds to the relaxation and helps us bond as a choir.

Then it was time for our performance. First we sang our warm up song and then we did our two performance songs. It was the latter we would be judged by. I remember that we sang a choral arrangement of a Robert Frost poem, a madrigal and a third song, whose name I can not recall. We weren't as good as we could have been. We could have been much better. When we were finished, we took our bows and exited. The band congratulated us and we congratulated Kenny for accompanying us on the piano during one of our songs. Then we got back on the bus, because the band would be playing at another school nearby.
The choir waited outside, while the band got ready to perform. It was a beautiful early evening, the fields of Pennsylvania Dutch Country a vibrant emerald green. The sky was slightly cloudy and I could smell a storm coming. Miss Westbrook and I admired the scenery together, as the sun began to set. It was a very soothing sight, that made me feel very serene. I decided that Pennsylvania was almost as pretty as Vermont.

We were allowed inside the building to watch the band. As we waited in the lobby, a school from New Jersey passed us. So many people! It seemed that not only had the students come on the trip, but their parents too! There had to be well over 100 people! BF had only brought the band and choir, along with a couple of parents acting as chaperons. I felt so small watching this big school pass us, I was so aware of how small of a group we were compared to them. Also, it seemed like all the New Jersey moms were wearing high heels, full make-up and lots of gold jewellery. Compared to them, we must have looked like a bunch of country bumpkins, a group of rag-tag kids from a small town in Vermont. We might as well have been wearing shit-kickers and John Deere caps.

The choir filed into the auditorium to watch the band play. We thought they did wonderfully. But after the band left the stage, and we went to greet them, we heard anguished sobbing coming from the girl's bathroom. One of the girls had made a small mistake while playing her flute. No one heard it, no one could even tell it had occurred, but it still upset her. All the girls and the two chaperons (both of whom were ladies) hugged her and washed her face, giving her reassurance. The Jazz Band was due to play soon, and she needed to calm down so she could play.

She had calmed down enough to go back on stage, and we listened to the jazz band play. They were very good, and I noticed that they all looked surreal and different from my place in the audience. They just didn't seem real from where I was sitting. After they finished, we got back on the bus and got ready to return to the hotel. It was dark by now, and everyone was still riled up, so we sang the school song with wild abandon and joy. At some point we passed the park we would be cavorting in the next day,  I regarded it with fondness, and hoped that this year would be as good as or better than last year. I wondered what the first-timers thought about it. Were they impressed? Were they filled with awe?

When we got back to the hotel, the pool hadn't closed yet, so my companions and I pulled our cold, damp bathing suits back on and headed down to the pool. We stayed in the indoor side of the pool, for some rather rowdy guests had commandeered the outside half. Plus, it was pretty much pitch black out there and there didn't seem to be any lamps outside to penetrate that darkness. After paddling around in the pool for a little while, my friend Kenny and I sat in the hot tub with another couple. If they were miffed about us being there (perhaps they wanted to be alone?) they didn't really show it, but they weren't exactly friendly either. Kenny and I talked about our performance, and how nice it was to soak in such lovely water after a long day. We also talked about the rides we'd go on tomorrow; it was very pleasant.

When I got back to the hotel room, I took a shower and prepared for bed. I washed all the chlorine out of my hair and off my body, concentrating on getting clean. It was just like any other hotel shower, rushed and unexciting. After my shower I put on my blue and black Mutts pajamas. The blue t-shirt had some cats and dog in a group hug, with the phrase "Recycle Hugs" The black cropped pj pants repeated the theme with a pattern of hugging animals, hearts and the Recycle Hugs phrase. I was so tired, I didn't even need to take my Seroquel. So I just settled into bed with a book and my teddy bear. Brandi settled in the bed next to mine, and Stephenie made her little kip on the floor.
I fell asleep quickly and had strange dreams. I always have weird dreams when I sleep in an unfamiliar place. Sometime in the night, I woke up to see a shadow standing over me, feel a hand shaking me. Startled, I cried out.
"It's me" Stephenie whispered, soothing my fear. She had gotten cold while sleeping on the floor and wanted to get in bed. She asked me to move over, and I obliged. Then the two of us curled up under the covers and slept.

I woke up around six in the morning, six thirty perhaps. I crawled out of bed, my roomies telling me that I could sleep in, we had some time. But I was awake already and too excited to go back to sleep. I brushed my teeth, washed my face and got dressed. I put on the new Capri pants that I had recently purchased from Torrid, with the blue and gold embroidery on the butt pockets. Then I pulled on my teal Foster's Home For Imaginary Friends t-shirt, also purchased from Torrid. It had the character Cheese on it, and it said "I like chocolate milk". I pulled my turquoise and yellow hand woven belt through my belt loops and put my checkered sneakers on. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and put my silver earrings with the green stones through my ears. I wore my new button on my shirt.

I went downstairs to have the breakfast the hotel was providing for us, knowing Brandi and Stephenie would join me soon enough. I sidled up to the buffet and served myself scrambled eggs and home fries, apple juice, and milk. I sat with some of the girls, and enjoyed my breakfast, though I had to pick the bell peppers out of my home fries. My room mates eventually joined us at the table, and had their breakfasts. After I finished eating, I had a cup of tea to calm my nerves.

After breakfast, I went back to my room and packed my things, obsessively making sure to leave nothing behind. Some of my friends had gone to swim in the pool for awhile, but I wasn't in the mood to swim, I was anxious to leave the hotel. Not wanting to be alone however, I joined them and preferred to sit on a pool chair and watch them swim. I chatted with a couple of the girls. We stole flowers from the large pots decorating the deck, and put them in our hair. It was starting to drizzle, so everyone in the pool swam back inside. At some point, while I remained outside, I flashed my friends a glimpse of my bra, in a moment of giddiness. I don't think anyone noticed, though.

I went inside, and waded in the hot tub up to my shins, enjoying that warm pleasant water one last time. One of the boys, a tall redhead named J.J. , was messing around with a hose. A hotel employee had left the hose running, presumably to refill the pool. Naturally, a bunch of teenage boys HAD to start playing with it. Needless to say, I got sprayed. Not a lot, a little sprinkle, but I was annoyed none the less. It was the start of a rough morning.
Soon, we checked out of the hotel and went to board the bus and load it with luggage. When we went outside though, we were horrified to find ourselves in a heavy thunderstorm. Like I said, It was a rough morning.

Stay tuned for Part Four!