The Billionaire Band Director

Chapter 10

    The next few weeks flew by.  Martha and Josie explored the campus and learned everything they could about George I Academy.  They went into the town a few times to get groceries and household goods, but otherwise stayed busy at the school and in their new house.  Martha and Josie both received their class assignments for the school year and got to work preparing for the fall semester to start.

    Martha would be teaching five classes.  Two were generic world literature classes for the lower grades.  One was an upper level class on Latin American literature.  One was an honor’s level class on magical realism, taught in English.  The last was an honor’s level class on magical realism, taught in Spanish.  This surprised Martha.  Although she spoke Spanish, she did not consider herself to be a foreign language teacher.  Mary Kensington told her that the class in Spanish was an upper level foreign language class for students who were beyond learning grammar and basic vocabulary, but that the standards for literary analysis were as high as they would be for students studying literature in their native language.  Martha was not surprised that the academy would have high standards for students studying literature in their second language, and even less surprised that it was assumed that none of the students would be native Spanish speakers.

    Josie was given a standard first year class schedule.  In addition to core subjects such as history and science, Josie was to select two electives and as many extra curricular activities as she wanted.

    “Music,” said Josie decidedly.  “I want to take every music class I can.”

    Martha and Josie debated her class schedule for days.  Martha wanted Josie to look ahead to the school’s graduation requirements and take more of the credits she would need to graduate, and she always wanted her to try new things.  Josie wanted to take advantage of the school’s music program to launch her career as a pop star.

            “Pop stars need math and business classes as much as music classes,” argued Martha.  “They need a well-rounded education to make smart career decisions.  And they don’t write or play their own music anyway- just sing a little and shake around in slutty outfits.”

            “Shows what you know!” shouted Josie.  “Clarissa writes ALL her own songs!  And she plays piano too!”

            Eventually they agreed that Josie could use one of her electives for a music class- music history, which would also count as a history credit- and as many music electives as she was eligible to take.  Martha made it clear that as soon as her grades started to slip, the music electives would be the first thing to go.

            Unlike the schools Martha was used to, band and choir were offered only as extracurricular activities at George I Academy.  With the tuition families were paying, they didn’t want students to waste valuable class time on hobbies, but the school wanted to make sure students could still list musical accomplishments on their college applications.  New students could sign up for beginning band and beginning orchestra, with the option to audition for choir and higher level music groups once the school year started.

            Josie decided to start with band.  Learning two new instruments, while also adapting to a new school, seemed like a lot, even for a music addict like Josie.  Besides, she told Martha, she would definitely nail her choir audition, so she’d have two music electives soon enough.  Martha notified the school’s academic office, and a meeting was set up with the band director.  Martha was given a printed half-sheet of paper with the information for the meeting.  On Tuesday, Martha and Josie would meet with Mr. Landry LeBlanc, music director for George I Academy, in the rehearsal room at exactly 2:30 pm.

            “Mr. LeBlanc,” the office assistant had told Martha, “takes music VERY seriously.”

            The assistant said this with a wistful look on her face, as if she wished it were not true. 

            “He does not wait for the school year to start,” the assistant continued.  “Every student who is starting music with him has to hit the ground running.  If the student already has an instrument, he meets with them for an audition and tells them what to work on before the semester stats.  If they don’t, he tells them what they will play and shows them enough to get started so they are ready to play on the first day of rehearsal.”

            “You mean, he helps them decide what to play,” said Martha.

            The assistant shook her head.

            “Not Mr. LeBlanc.  He decides.  He knows how he wants his band to be, and that’s how it is.”

            Martha thought that was a little dictatorial.  Shouldn’t students pick their own instruments, so they were more excited about learning music?  She reminded herself that the academy’s shift to modern teaching was fairly recent, and there were likely several holdovers from its stricter days.  From what she had heard of Landry LeBlanc, he was surely one of them.  She pictured him as a stuffy old man who made students practice their scales, on instruments he selected for them, for hours.  She shared her thoughts with Josie, but Josie didn’t mind.

            “Oh Martha,” she said. “I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.  They wouldn’t let him teach music here if he wasn’t good at it.  Besides, I don’t really care what instrument I start with.  I’ll be a pop star no matter what.”

            Still, Martha could not help but wonder about Landry LeBlanc.  She found herself looking at the half-sheet of paper with the appointment information over and over again.  Why am I so curious about him? Martha wondered. It’s because he’s the first teacher Josie will meet here, and I want us to make a good impression.  Especially since music is so important to her.

            On the day of the appointment with Mr. LeBlanc, Martha dressed in one of the new dresses Betsy had bought her.  This was, after all, a new colleague of hers.  She selected a navy blue shirtdress and leather heels.  She knew the shoes were not the most practical for the walk to the school, but vanity won out over practicality. Josie also seemed to feel a need to impress, as she wore her new pink dress.

            Martha and Josie started towards the school before 2 pm.  The walk usually took about fifteen minutes but they did not want to be late.  The main building was almost empty, since school had not yet started.  They made their way in silence to the rehearsal hall, near the Donald and Elizabeth James Center for the Performing Arts.  They stopped in front of the closed door.

            “Ready?” asked Martha.

            Josie rolled her eyes. “Martha, it’s beginning band.  It’s not an audition.  He doesn’t expect me to know anything about music yet.”

            Josie’s calm demeanor soothed Martha.  See?  If Josie’s not nervous, why should I be?  Martha relaxed, smiled at Josie, and pushed open the door.

            That’s when she saw him.  The man from the Starbucks.  The man she had spilled coffee all over.  The man she had been fantasizing about while Josie was asleep.  He was sitting right in front of them, and from the look on his face he was as shocked as Martha.