Pun Detectives and the Case of the Missing Music! (Part 19)

“Uh… if they were all, you know, singing your praises, like you said, then why get this upset?”

I instantly regretted asking. The answer was more ridiculous than anything I could have ever made up.

“Because they weren’t paying enough attention to me! Every day, everyone was all ‘Oh, Vance, you’re such a good player. You’re really the glue holding this band together.’ Or, ‘Haha, Vance, you’re exactly what our marching band needs right now. We’re all better off for your being here.’ And then that vile arachnid Striking Eyes would be all, ‘Woooow, Vance, you’re so awesome at violin. We’re so lucky to have you in the violin section,’ fluttering doe eyes and all. Even Treble got in on it, lauding me for my contributions to the group every second of every minute I spent with violin in hand.

“Those imbeciles! Even they recognize that my greatness is no team effort… so then why do they only ever praise me for what I have to offer the band as a whole? Huh? Why? Why don’t they praise me and only me!? The swim team admits I’m their star. The tennis team admits I’m their star. Even the track team admits that I’m the biggest shining star in the sky. So why can’t the marching band admit it? Why does every dimwit there have to adopt this ridiculous one-for-all mentality when we all know I’m the one carrying the team?”

“And that’s why you took away everyone else’s violin?” I almost couldn’t believe my ears. It was crazy talk.

“Yes! And I’m proud to finally admit it! Screw everyone else! I’m the one running this show. The rest are just pathetic bystanders. Well, guess what? I’m sick of it. You can either admit that I’m the one who deserves the spotlight, or get the hell out. The ‘group,’ the ‘team,’ the ‘band’ — all of it, all of them, can suck eggs.”

“You’re insane.” Truthfully, I was trying not to laugh.

“Wrong! I’m the only one who is sane. Striking Eyes and everyone else… I can’t understand a thing that goes through their heads. I thought that maybe, just maybe, if no one else had their instrument, they would finally recognize me for the genius I am and cut all this touchy feely teamwork crap out. But nooooooooo. Everyone’s still going on and on about marching band this, violin section that, team spirit the other. Where’s my praise, huh? Tell me that. It was all so sickening I could’ve vomited. I didn’t of course. I wouldn’t be caught dead purposely ruining my devilishly handsome demeanor. But truth is team spirit does nothing but make me sick. But what makes my stomach really churn, seriously threaten to spew chunks, is how I had to steal my own violin to divert suspicion. Couldn’t have everyone figuring out I was the one behind this, after all.”

All of this just about blew me away. Was it just me, or was confessing that he had tried to cover all this up basically the same thing as admitting that he knew beyond the tiniest sliver of doubt that what he was doing was wrong?

“Well, that’s a nice story,” I lied. “But the thing is, you’re boned anyway. It was all for nothing. The jig’s up, Vance. Your plan’s done for.”

I had made sure of that. Come what may, I’d seen this through to the end. I was proud of myself. For the very first time in my life, I was really, seriously proud of something I had done. Because I had run all the way here, to this finish line.

And I hadn’t done it alone.

Striking Eyes, and all the other violin players for that matter… Where I was right now, I was standing on the back of their guidance and their clues.

Greg, Evan, and me. We were an inseparable team. The three muskrateers. It was a typo I wouldn't trade for the world. You couldn’t have all for one without one for all. I guessed I should have realized that before relegating them to backup. I silently promised I’d make it up to them next time we saw each other.

And… Lily. Things that were missing could still be important. She had no idea, no way of knowing, but she was the one who taught me that. Without that, I would still be stuck, bashing walls with my frustrated head. Even though she was gone, even though she had tested just about all the patience I had, even though I had made the awful mistake of bottling up venom till it spilled over all at once, I couldn’t change my feelings. She was still important to me. Even though she got under my skin from time to time, she’d already saved my skin more than once. I couldn’t let myself forget that. I appreciated that. I appreciated—

—her.

Now wait.

Hang on.

Hold up a minute here.

Someone who got on your nerves but you still liked.

Someone who was just as fun to be around as they were annoying.

Someone you missed like hell when they weren’t around, like they were a carved-out chunk of your own body.

In a flash, everything became clear to me. Man! What a fool I’d been. It was so simple. It always had been.

Me and Lily…

…were friends.

The end of Pun Detectives and the Case of the Missing Music (Part 19)!
To be continued in Part 20!