The 10 girls who make up the color guard lounge around the commons area after school in shorts and T-shirts, snacking on vending machine goods as they talk and laugh.

But when senior and co-captain Chloe Williams beats two drumsticks together with a sound that echoes around the room and shouts, “Band, ten hut!” everyone jumps to attention with military precision.

Everything about color guard pushes uniformity, from the 90-degree angle between neck and chin to the perfectly timed spins of the “silk” or the flag. Members of the color guard must master spins and tosses of flags, rifles, sabers, and air blades as well as dance and body work.

“If the angles are off even by a little, people and judges can totally tell,” sophomore Sara Gardner said.

But their hard work has paid off. The color guard placed second in the WNC Pride of the Mountains competition in 2007.

“It’s the biggest competition we go to. We prepare for it the most,” captain and senior Maegan Wells said.

Not only is color guard a functional part of the band, competing and practicing alongside them, it is also appreciated for its aesthetic value.

“It adds another level of visual interest and musical interpretation through dance and color,” band director Jim Lewis said.

Color guard also provides a creative outlet for the girls involved. The vote is unanimous when it comes to what these girls enjoy most about color guard: the performance.

“It’s really hard and you want to quit because you get pushed so hard but then when you perform, you realize it was worth it,” Sara said.

Maegan agrees with her teammate.

“This has been the best thing I’ve done. This is my family.”