Chapter One – Sue's Ghost

"A very merry Christmas to you Mija!" said a voice on the phone. It was the voice of Santana's mother.

"Oh hi Mom. Merry Christmas to you too " Santana replied.

"What time can we expect you at tonight Santana? You know the roads are going to be busy Christmas Eve, so you should leave soon"

"I don't think I will be home for Christmas. Truth is, I am kind of slammed here in college and need to catch up on my studying"

"Oh honey, are you sure? Christmas won't be the same without you at the table"

"I am sure, yes. Anyways, I have to go. I am in the library here and the librarian is telling me to hang up. Love you mom"

"Love you too Mija"

Santana hung up her cell and sighed deeply. Joyce, another freshman who was in the cheerleaders glanced up from her English studies book.

"You okay Santana?" she queried

Santana glared at her using the best bitch look she could muster up.

"Listen here Torrance Shipman. I didn't ask you to get all up in my business and I certainly don't want you to. So please back off afores I teach you some fancy new words that aren't in that English book of yours. And these aren't nice flowery words that will get you an A+ in your exam."

"God Santana, just trying to help, you don't need to be such a bitch all the time. Anyway, I'm going home for the holidays. See you next semester" Joyce said slamming her book closed and leaving the library.

Santana sighed again. Truth was, she didn't need to stay in Louisville to study, she just wasn't feeling particularly Christmassy this year after the breakup between her and Brittany. The two of them used to gear up for Christmas together doing stuff like wearing matching Christmas socks from the 1st day in December and driving around to look at all the Christmas lights together on the 16th with Brittany filming them for a special Christmas Edition of Fondue for Two. These were traditions that were not going to be done this year and Santana missed them.

She closed her sociology book and headed back to her dorm, thinking on the way that putting on a Sweet Valley High marathon might get her out of this holiday funk.

As she closed her bedroom door, she glanced over to the photo of her and Brittany that she always kept beside her bed. Every night when Santana came in from a night of college she would look at it and say goodnight to Britt. It was her replacement to saying goodnight over Skype. Tonight though, the photo looked different. Where Brittany's face was, the face of Sue Sylvester showed up instead.

"Holy sweet hell, am I missing being in the cheerios to the extent I am having some weird fantasy about Coach Sue" Santana thought to herself as she walked further towards the picture to examine it (or possibly turn it face down as that's not the blonde she wanted to fantasize about) When she got closer though, Brittany's beaming face showed up instead.

Santana shook her head, as if to clear the cobwebs of that particular fantasy from her mind and double locked her dorm door. She then grabbed her laptop which was already laying on her bed and sat on her bed, ready to get her marathon on.

Just as she pressed play on the first episode though, there was a loud noise of footsteps leading up to her dorm door. With no prewarning Sue Sylvester slammed open the dorm door and walked through it.

"Sandbags, you and I need to have a chat"

Santana looked Coach Sylvester up and down. She wondered two things; Firstly, what Coach was doing on a night she knew the Coach usually went reindeer shooting, and secondly what she was wearing. Instead of the plain tracksuit Coach Sylvester normally wore, this one was white and bedazzled, casting darts of light across the ceiling.

"Okay, okay, I am going to skip the obvious question of why you are here and just say two things. Firstly I am not in your cheerios anymore, so I don't really have to listen to your chats and secondly what the hell are you wearing? I mean you look a reject from a bargain basement Liberace keep-fit video".

"Well Boobs McGoo, you may not remember this from last Christmas as you lazy idiot Glee kids were too busy trying to make that completely ridiculous Christmas TV special, but Christmas Eve of last year I kept myself occupied after Jeannie's death by feeding the homeless. Unfortunately, the homeless shelter got wind of the fact that I verbally abuse the homeless the other 364 days of the year so I need to choose something else to fill my time. This is where you come in."

"Well I have no interest in hearing what you have to say Coach"

"Why is that Santana, do you have somewhere else to be?"

Coach Sylvester hit a nerve and she knew it. Santana was ready with another retort, but as soon as that question came out of the Coach's mouth, Santana closed her mouth and glared.

"I make my cheerios winners. I wrote you that recommendation to go here on the basis that you would keep my good reputation, only to hear that you haven't even tried out for Cheer Captain and are bottom of the pyramid. I have never been so disappointed in my life, and that includes the time that American Idol turned down my audition video of 'Let's Get Physical' based on the fact I was in their words 'too old and not Olivia Newton John'. What I need you to do for me Sweater Meat is turn your life around, so my good reputation is upheld. Because I can't be your Cheerios Coach anymore, I am going to be your Life Coach"

"Oh yeah, and how are you going to do that Coach? Keep insulting me until I break down? As I said before, I have no interest in hearing what you have to say and my life is fine the way it is".

"Guess what Lady Ta-Ta, it's not just me you'll be hearing from, as much fun as constantly insulting you would be. You are going to be visited by three spirits who are going to help you turn your life around. The first will come when the clock strikes one."

"Wanky" smirked Santana.

"I don't even know what that means Airbags, and I have no interest in finding out. The second spirit will be here at 2am and then following that the third will be at 3am. This is a great chance I am giving you to sort yourself out, don't screw it up or I will use the same Navy Seals training I did to get into your double locked-door to kidnap you and dump you somewhere you are better suited for – perhaps a clown college as the way your life is going, you will be one giant joke"

With that Sue walked out of the dorm.

Santana closed the dorm door and double locked it again, pulling her desk in front of it for good measure and shook her head.

"Coach Sue needs to find something else to keep herself occupied" she thought to herself, "we had so many crappy life lessons in Glee club I have become immune to them at this stage".

She lay on her bed and placed the laptop on her lap to watch some Sweet Valley high, but didn't get past the first episode before she fell asleep.