The equipment in my studio grew to include a stereo system that Kristen and I found at the flea market, to which we added that portable cassette deck that Roy and I tricked out. We were going to look for a stereo cassette deck, but since I insisted that we were going for all second-hand equipment in the studio, the pickings were slim. The setup, while it wasn’t the top of the line, was still respectable. We had a tuner, amp, pre-amp, turntable, and that portable cassette. I could play just about any song we had a copy of at the apartment, as well as pick up music from the local stations. It was fun picking along the latest tunes on the radio.
After about three hours of playing keyboards, trumpet, recording vocals, and just lounging around listening to some Sinatra and Elton John, I noticed the intercom light was flashing.
“Oogie here!” I announced.
“About time you answered,” Kristen said.
“How long was it this time?” I asked.
“Ten minutes.”
“That’s not a record, dear.”
I could hear Lynette laughing in the background.
“Mr. Proilet’s here.”
My music teacher? “Um… be right up!”
I ran from the studio upstairs to the living room.
Mr. Proilet was sitting in the living room, flanked by Lynette and Kristen. My favorite recliner was empty and strategically located so that the three of them would be facing me.
Something told me that Kristen was in what I call her “overwhelm and conquer” mode, which I had seen a few times, most notably during the situation between my English teacher and my High School Principal.
I didn’t take my seat, but approached guardedly.
“Hey, Mr. P,” I said. “What’s up?”
“I’ve offered Kristen a job, and she’s accepted.”
I looked at Kristen and saw a gleam in her eyes.
I turned to Lynette and said, “Lynette, can you tell me the real story?”
Mr. Proilet started laughing. “You know Kristen all right!”
Kristen didn’t react. I looked at Lynette and asked her to continue.
“Jim, I’m not aware of all the financial details, but Kristen’s KISS Holdings, along with her father’s Swift Holdings, are donating money to the High School music program.”
Mr. Proilet picked it up. “Kristen came to me a couple of weeks ago and asked what she could do to help me out this year. I told her about the increase in enrollment in the program, and that I was going to be hard pressed to fulfill everything that I would need to do as the head of the program at the school. I mean, there’s Mr. Ryan for the orchestral band, but I head the concert and marching bands. The size of the marching band has doubled, and it looks like we’re going to be invited to some more parades this year. There’s a chance that we might get invited to do a half-time show at a University football game, which might mean local television coverage.”
I nodded. The marching band didn’t interest me in the least, actually, but I knew that nearly all of the concert band members were in it. They would be practicing starting next week before school officially started to be ready for the first football game.
Mr. Proilet continued. “The money from Kristen and her father will allow me to hire two new people. The first is a guy that I have been trying to get for a couple of years now, except there was no money in the school budget for him. Last year’s concerts and musical made money, and the budget was a bit better for this year, but still not enough to get Roger Harris. When Kris called me, I told her the situation, and she offered to help fund him to work full time, taking over my responsibilities for the marching band. Kristen’s father made it a permanent donation, plus funded a new football scoreboard for the athletic department. Anyway, I’m now able to have Roger as long as I want. He’s got experience with drum and bugle corps…”
As I said, the marching band didn’t interest me. I interrupted. “Hey, Kris! That was a nice gesture!”
Mr. Proilet knew about my lack of interest in the marching band and decided to switch tack. “I talked it over with Mr. Yank, and also got him to make an agreement to accept the donation, which is a grant over a period of ten years. In addition, Stanley has agreed to allow me to hire Kristen.”
“Hire Kristen? Why?” I asked, confused.
“I’ve created a part time, student teacher job for Kristen,” Mr. Proilet answered. “She will work three days a week as Music Department Student Liaison.”
“Liaison?”
Kristen finally answered. “I’m to help out a few hours to help Jean as an interface to the students, mainly to help on some mundane chores, and extracurricular projects. This is all contingent on my being able to continue to take my courses at the college and keep up my grades.”
I picked up the important two words. “’Extracurricular projects’ as in ‘Jazz Band?’”
Kristen nodded, smiling.
Mr. Proilet added, “The chorus, also.”
There was a strange smile on Lynette’s face, and I thought silently for a few moments.
I realized that Mr. Proilet had worked it out so that I would have my muse around for another year! In addition, he was able to hire a guy that would be able to make our band more competitive on the field.
“When does this Roger start?” I asked.
“He’s already accepted, and he officially starts next week,” Mr. Proilet said, smiling. “Roger actually started work on the schematics for the drills in anticipation, once I told him that Kristen’s word was a done deal.”
I was truly happy for everybody. Kristen found a way to continue to insinuate herself into my music, even after she graduated. In addition, I knew that Mr. Proilet wanted a competitive marching band, and I think that made him feel a bit better. Mr. Proilet had been told that marching band was outside my main interests by my Junior High music teacher, Mr. Thurd.
I would like to add here parenthetically that I had a reason for not liking the marching band. I always associated the drills (especially the drum and bugle corps) with the military, and I spent a good portion of my life growing up in the 1960s, where anti-war sentiment was nearly universal among my age group. In other words, I considered the marching band to be in the same league as, say, high school R.O.T.C classes. I don’t think that I would feel the same way if I were growing up today, since marching bands have come a long way since the 1970s, and I think it was people like Roger Harris that made the bands better and made them much more popular.
Mr. Proilet, Kristen, Lynette, and I made some small talk, and eventually I brought Mr. Proilet downstairs to my studio to show him some of the stuff that I was working on. Kristen and Lynette also joined us, and I really think everybody was impressed at what I was able to do as a soloist with my own studio.
Jean actually smiled when he heard my rendition of ”The Wanderer“ with Sherry’s name in it. “You continue to amaze me, son.”
“I’m thinking of taking a gig at Puppy Dawg’s,” I told my teacher.
“Solo?”
“Well, Gerry’s band broke up, so I was going to ask for him and his drummer, who are pretty good. I could use good singers, like Roy and Stacey, and I’d like to get somebody like Sam. Of course, I’ll involve Kristen as well.”