Too Little, Too Late

Chapter One

Oliver closed his eyes and basked in the harmonious beauty of the deep, sensual tones coming from the low brass. He was swimming in the dark chords being pulled together by the euphoniums and trombones as the tubas rang out in a quiet, subtle quarter note beats. This is what he loved most - and he despised the very idea of his shrill trumpet solo ruining it.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Dr. Christians shouted, cutting the band off. The professor looked instantly at Oliver, who squirmed as the entire band's eyes followed Dr. Christians. "Lansing, where were you? Is something going on back there that I should be made aware of?"

"No, I just miscounted," Oliver, lied, not wanting to make public what he had been thinking about.

"Don't let it happen again, Oliver," Dr. Christians said, giving Oliver a concerned glance, which he recovered from quickly. "Let's begin five before the soloist's entrance and see if Lansing can prove his chair."

As Oliver lifted his trumpet to his lips, he noticed an oboe from the front row turn and look at him. It was Daryn O'dell, Oliver's roommate and best friend. Oliver rolled his eyes and shrugged, telling Daryn it was nothing big.

"Good practice, everyone," Dr Christians said, signaling the end of practice. Instantly, there was a scurry throughout the room with people hurrying to find their instrument cases. "Oliver Lansing, I want to talk to you in my office as soon as you pack up."

Oliver sighed and detached his mouthpiece from his trumpet and snapped his case shut.

"Good luck," Daryn said, stopping to pick up Oliver's trumpet. "I'll put this away for you."

"Thanks," Oliver said, watching Daryn walk away. He then resigned to his fate and walked into Dr. Christians' office.

"Close the door," Dr. Christians said, not looking up from a score of music - the score from the song they had just been playing. "The low brass bridge, hm?" The professor looked up at Oliver, his brown eyes smiling. "Care to explain?"

Although Dr. Christians set up a tough cover in the classroom, he had always had a tender spot for Oliver. Oliver wasn't sure why and didn't know how to explain it, but he wasn't complaining.

"It's..it's kind of stupid," Oliver said, smiling small.

"Try me."

"Well, I tend to get a little, uh, caught up in the music," Oliver said, looking down at the score. "I've always loved the sound of low brass instruments."

"You're not alone," Dr. Christians sighed, looking at the score as well. "I think everyone has a spot reserved just for the blending tons of the euphoniums and trombones.

"Yeah," Oliver agreed.

"However," Dr. Christians said, quickly closing the score, "you need to nail that solo, son. It's the core part of the piece."

"I know," Oliver said.

"Well, we can continue this discussion tonight during your lesson," Dr. Christians said, getting to his feet. "All right?"

"Sounds good," Oliver replied, nodding his head in agreement.

Oliver left the office and gathered up his bag and swung it over one shoulder. As he left the room, he saw that his friends had waited for him before going off for lunch.

"Oll-ay," said Daryn, putting an arm around Oliver's shoulders. "What was that all about, hm? Are we lucky you're still alive despite the wrath of Dr. Christians?"

"I've told you," Oliver said, pushing Daryn off of him, "Dr. Christians isn't half bad. Also, I'd rather not want any more girls thinking I'm gay than already do. I would like to get a girlfriend sooner or later, you know."

"Oliver, you're attending a private, liberal arts college and you have a music performance major," Alex, Daryn's boyfriend, said. "I'm sure the teachers think you're gay whether you want them to or not."

"Who cares what the teachers think," Brian, the other straight one of the group. "They're not the ones I want to get into my pants."

"Moronically said," Daryn said, taking Alex's hand.

"Don't kiss," Oliver said, making a face of disgust. "I'm glad you guys like each other - just don't like each other around me and Bryan."

"Unless you want to suffer the oh so very dire consequences," Brian said, pushing open the door to the campus cafeteria. "But, come on. I could do for some pizza right about now."

"Pepperoni," Alex said.

"Extra cheese," Daryn put in.

"Fine, so long as it's on a thin crust," Brian said.

"Holy - hey, hold on a second, guys," Oliver said, holding up a hand, and gazing across the room.

"What are you looking at?" Daryn asked, trying to look in the same direction as Oliver.

"The 'We're Open!' sign on the Campus Store?" Alex asked.

"No, that girl by the Find a Ride," Oliver said, pointing to a girl, who was putting up a piece of paper and with another girl. The girl Oliver was looking at had shoulder-blade length blonde hair and bright blue eyes you could make out even from across the room.

"Damn, Olly," Brian said, his eyes wide. "She's hot. Do you know her? Maybe you could introduce me."

"The blonde or the girl with black hair?" Alex said.

"The blonde, I think," Daryn said. "She is really pretty."

Brian looked at Daryn incredulously. "I thought you were supposed to be gay."

"I am gay," Daryn said. "But, just because I'm gay doesn't mean I can't think that girls are pretty."

"Whatever," Brian said. He turned back to Oliver. "Yo, Olly. What's up? Do you know her?"

"I - no, I don't," Oliver said, shaking his head abruptly as though trying to get the thoughts out of his mind. "She just looks familiar. But, come on, let's go get some food."

"I was hoping you knew her," Brian said as they walked towards the cafeteria. "I haven't had a decent girlfriend since last year."

Back at the Find a Ride, Tara Berkley was putting her dorm phone number up with her name under 'Marcusville Area.' She was going home the coming up weekend and she figured that she could probably take someone with her, since it would be her first ride home alone, and she wasn't looking forward to riding by herself.

"Tara, I'm telling you," said Gwen Marquette, Tara's roommate. "This isn't a good idea. What if you get stuck with some complete freakoid that tries to rape you or something halfway home."

"Gwen, I'm sure that there aren't any rapists on campus at the moment," Tara replied, picking up her messenger bag and putting it over her shoulder.

"You never know," Gwen said. "You're just a misguided freshmen - perfect prey for hornballs."

"That's why I have you and Jake," Tara said, walking towards the entrance. "The person will call me and I will ask you both, the wise and experienced sophomore and junior respectively."

"That's right," Gwen said, running her fingers through her hair. "Where would you be without me?"

"Probably still trying to find the music hall," Tara said, grinning.

"Did you see those guys?" Gwen asked, her green eyes sparkling. "They were pretty good looking, weren't they?"

"Gwen, they're at a private, liberal arts school," Tara said, rolling her eyes. "Chances are half of them were gay."

"Well, that leaves the other half being straight and I'm not complaining, seeing as all four of them weren't bad looking," Gwen replied, shrugging. "Besides, that one guy with curly brown hair was looking at you."

"Yeah, whatever," Tara said, shaking her head. "I highly doubt that. Besides, I have Bryce."

"Bryce, Bryce, Bryce," Gwen said, shaking her head. "Come ON, Tara."

"What?" Tara asked, getting ready for the "talk" again.

"You're nineteen-years-old," Gwen began. "You need to explore other options. There are tons of guys out there, even on campus - even if only half of them are straight. How do you know Bryce is the right one?"

"I just do," Tara replied. "End of discussion. I have to go to choir now. I'll see you in the dorm later, okay?"

"Yeah, fine," Gwen said, shaking her head. "Pizza tonight?"

"Sounds great!" Tara shouted over her shoulder as she turned to the music hall.

"That girl is whipped," Gwen said, shaking her head in dismay as she started towards the library.

***

"Pizza!" Brian announced, setting a box down at the table the other three guys had already sat at.

Oliver opened the box, revealing a large extra cheese, pepperoni pizza. "About time."

"Shut up," Brian said, smacking Oliver in the back of his brown, curly-haired head. "There were about fifty freshmen in front of me."

"Sure, blame the freshmen on your tardiness," Daryn said, picking up a slice and putting it on a napkin.

"I will," Brian said, following Daryn in suit. "So, Olly, my man. Are you going to seek out that girl?"

"What girl?" Oliver asked, mid-bite.

"That girl up at the Find a Ride," Alex said.

"Oh, come on, guys," Oliver scoffed. "I don't even know her name. For all I know she could be a senior or something with a boyfriend already."

"Well, let's see," Brian said, closing his eyes. "My guess is that she's either a sophomore or junior, since she was using the Find a Ride. Seniors seem to not care about being congenial to those of us who lack a car and freshmen are too freaked about being in college to want to even approach it."

"And she's probably single, seeing as she doesn't have a boyfriend to give a ride to or get a ride from," Daryn added. "And besides, you said you wanted to go home this weekend but lack the wheels because of whatever you said was wrong with your own car."

"Very true, Daryn," Brian said, pointing across the table at him. "So, I don't see why you can't even try."

"How, Brian?" Oliver asked skeptically. "As I said before, I don't even know her name so it'd be pointless to go up there and look. I'd have to grab every girl's name that's up there. And then what would I do? Call them and ask if they're a blonde with blue eyes?"

"No, you dumbass," Brian replied, talking slowly as though trying to penetrate Oliver's skull. "Just keep an eye out for her. This isn't exactly the largest campus. I'm sure you're bound to see her at one point in time."

"That's true, Oliver," Daryn replied. "And it's not often that I agree with something that escapes Brian's lips."

"Besides, Olly," Alex said, the voice of reason. "When was the last time you had a girlfriend?"

Brian was silent before saying, "Highschool. I broke up with her right after graduation. She was a year younger than me."

"That's a sad story," Brian said. "But, that was two years ago. I think it's time you moved on to bigger and better things."

"Why are we discussing my nonexistent love life?" Oliver asked, picking up a piece of pizza. "Let's change the subject, okay?"

The four were silent for a few minutes before Brian said, "No, I think that the topic of your love life is pretty entertaining to discuss." Daryn and Alex nodded.

"Thanks, guys," Oliver said, leaning his head on his hand as he finished off his piece of pizza. Suddenly, he looked at his watch and swore loudly. "I have to be in my music theory class in five minutes. I'll see you guys later, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Brian said.

Oliver grabbed his bag and ran up the stairs to where the entrance was. Just as he was about to leave the building, he turned and looked at the Find a Ride. He swallowed hard and decided that it didn't hurt to take a look.

He walked over to right where the girl was standing and saw the Marcusville Area listing. There were only three slips of paper. Two were guys and the other -

Oliver took a sharp intake of breath and grabbed the piece of paper down from the board. It read 'Tara Berkley.'

"No way...," Oliver whispered to himself. She had changed her mind? What had happened to going to a state university? "It was her."

Oliver ripped his gaze from the paper that held her name and dorm phone number and smashed it into his pants pocket. He would worry about this later. Now all he could think about was music.

As he hurried into the music hall, trying to remember everything he had to in case of a pop quiz, he ran smack into a girl, dropping his bag and letting everything spill out. Not just any girl, of course. Tara Berkley.

"Oh, my God, I'm so sorry," she apologized quickly, falling to her knees and helping him pick up his fallen stuff. "I don't know what I was doing. My mind was still back in the choir room."

"It's okay," Oliver said quickly, hoping she wouldn't recognize him already.

"Hey, um," Tara said, looking at his face. "You look really familiar. Have we met before?"

"Don't think so," Oliver said, picking up his last book and putting it into his bag. "Thanks."

"Yeah, no problem..," Tara said before Oliver sped off to his theory class, leaving the girl utterly confused. 'Whatever,' Tara thought to herself, letting her mind wander back to the choir room.