CHAPTER ONE

It is finally spring time at Lima, Ohio, and McKinley High School is buzzing with excitement as the season warms and the flowers bloom. School just ended and the hallway is crowded, filled with ponytailed Cheerios, jocks in their red-and-white basketball jackets, nerds, Goths, and what-nots.

A certain Ryder Lynn is seen shoving a couple of textbooks into his bag and closing his locker shut. He looks around, and his face brightens as he spots two familiar faces in the sea of high school dwellers.

"Yo, Marley, Jake!" he calls up, and the couple walking hand-in-hand look up. Marley waves and Jake nods in a tight-faced expression.

"I'm so ready for Glee club today," Marley says excitedly as she grips Jake's hand tightly. "It's assignment day and I'm always so nervous whenever our assignments are going to be announced."

"I hope it's not something as silly as dressing up as superheroes again," Jake murmurs, recalling the horrible week at Glee club when he had to use a silly superhero costume.

"Or diva week," Ryder points out. "The boys were pretty much tactless that time – except for Blaine."

"What? Come on, diva week was super fun!" Marley says.

Ryder and Jake are about to say otherwise when they meet up with Blaine, Tina, Artie, and the rest of the Glee gang in front of the choir room. Mr. Schuester is following behind. He signals for everyone to come inside.

Jake is the first one to come in, and the first one to spot the visitor.

"Whoa," he says, frowning. "Uh, Mr. Schue? Why is there an Asian midget in the choir room?"

There is, in fact, a small Asian girl sitting in the middle of the seats reserved for the Glee club members. She has long, dark hair that reaches her shoulders, bright, brown eyes, and rosy cheeks. She blushes when Jake appears, but then her eyes flare up dangerously at his insult.

"Excuse me, Asian midget?" she says, standing up and pointing a finger accusingly at Jake. "Hold up, hold up. No one calls me an Asian midget. Say that to my face again and I'll make you cry home to Mommy, you sorry ass, pathetic crop-cut loser."

There are a series of "oooh"s from the other guys as Jake stares at the girl, stunned at her fiery temper. He's about to say something nasty back at her when Marley tugs at his arm and Mr. Schue orders everyone to sit down.

"All right, guys, I think we all know that we have a special visitor today," Mr. Schue smiles at the girl, who immediately moves to stand next to him. She is still glaring at Jake, who glares back at her. "Everyone, this is Gina Halim. She's a transfer student from Indonesia, and her family is just getting settled at Lima, so I expect you all to give her a warm welcome."

Everyone except Jake clap their hands. Sam even gives a little cheer from the back seat.

"Now, I believe that Gina has a debut performance for us today?" Mr. Schue smiles at Gina.

Gina smiles nicely at Mr. Schuester before her cocky expression returns. "Back in Indonesia, the show choir group at my school performed all the time. I was their lead singer, and their MVP. So you should all be grateful that you have me as an additional member that will lead you all to victory in the upcoming Regionals championship."

"It's like a whole new Rachel Berry, all over again," Artie whispers to Tina, who unhappily nods her agreement.

Gina brings out a small CD player she had put behind the piano and clicks on a button. The cheerful, upbeat music to the song Rockin' Robin by Bobby Day starts playing.

He rocks in the treetops all day long, hoppin' and a-boppin' and a-singin' his song,

All the little birds on Jaybird street, love to hear the robin go,

Tweet, tweet, tweet, rockin' robin… rockin' robin..

The petite girl dances along playfully to the tune, her wavy dark hair flying around her face as she twirls and turns like a happy little bird. She is small and agile, and a pretty good dancer. Her steps seem so light as she hops this way and that. She is not a bad singer, too. Overall, she seems like a talented performer.

Go, rockin' robin, cause we're really gonna rock tonight….

She holds a long note at the end of the song, and does the infamous wolf whistle before raising her arms high in the air. The Glee clubbers are on their feet, clapping and cheering and whistling at the breathtaking performance. It is only day one, and Gina Halim has received a standing O.

"That was amazing, Gina!" Mr. Schuester beams at her as he gets up from his seat. "Welcome to the team! You would definitely help us win Regionals. Let's give it all up for Gina!"

While everyone claps one more time, Gina's eyes find Jake's. "What's your name?" she asks, nudging her chin towards him.

"Jake," he answers, surprised and annoyed at the same time by her cockiness.

"Jake," she repeats. "Let me get two things straight for you. A, I will personally chop down anyone who dares to say a single word of insult at me and B, I'm a nasty bitch, so I would stay out of my way if I were you, unless you want to get smacked down right in the face. Got that?"

With that, she sits back down, ignoring Jake's wild stares of disbelief. The whole room goes silent as Gina's words ring through their heads. Only Ryder, sitting right behind Jake, watches Gina with a confused look. Slowly, quietly, he frowns, nodding to himself.