can you go more into depth with bill joining his college's orchestra? im intrigued 👀👀
OH ABSOLUTELY!! THIS CONCEPT HAS BEEN ON MIND NONSTOP FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS
I feel that Bill joining his university's orchestra only makes sense if he did his time in high school marching band. In reality, would he ever join on his own? Fuck no. He believed that marching band would have tanked his social status (if it ever existed) and taken a sledgehammer to his already overinflated ego.
After burning down Joe's, moving to Michigan, and being grounded from Hell and back, Bill's mother wanted to distance her son from the whole incident, encouraging him to pick up hobbies completely unrelated to fandoms.
Her first thought? Another instrument.
Now, this idea didn’t come from the kindness of her heart. God, no. It wasn’t genuine at all. She just wanted a hobby that would get her son out of the house and off his ass, and the first thing she spotted was his discarded clarinet case. So she handed him some cash, told him to pick an instrument and a tutor, and by Thor’s hammer, if he spent even a cent on comics, figures, or anything remotely nerdy, he was out.
Plain and simple.
Knowing he couldn’t win that fight, Bill reluctantly gave in. He went to the nearest music shop, chose the viola (because it looked “sophisticated” and, in his mind, might help him pick up chicks), and used the rest of the money to book weekly lessons.
Of course, while he hated sitting through two tutoring sessions a week (two to three hours at a time), he found ways to use it to his “advantage.” It became the perfect excuse to sneak out, catch a movie, or wander through game shops and comic stores. And before he found another part-time job, maybe he even struck a deal with his tutor: doing the guy’s college algebra homework (he puts the smart in smart-ass) for twenty bucks a pop, or at least a discount on lessons.
Now, whether Bill genuinely enjoyed playing the viola or despised every moment of it is up for interpretation. Maybe he became immaculate at it out of passion, or maybe he mastered it purely out of spite... but he did master it nonetheless.
Fast forward to college. He’s in honors classes now, and when given the choice between joining the marching band or the orchestra, the decision is obvious. Orchestra, duh.
Marching band felt childish, especially with his old clarinet case plastered in pop-culture stickers. In the orchestra, Bill managed to make a name for himself for both good and bad reasons. To the conductors, he was one of the most skilled players. However, to his fellow peers? He was the most insufferable, controlling prick to ever wield such a damnable instrument.
