Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 38th cycle. Now cycle 39!

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"A Sour Patch"
Sugar & New Directions

She would be willing to bet that before the day she had waltzed into that room, covered in spaghetti no less, they had no idea who she was. Maybe that was part of the reason why she thought so little of their abilities… now. Once upon a time, they were all she would think about.

The first time Sugar Motta had become aware of Glee Club was not in the days of Sandy Ryerson but in the aftermath of his downfall. She'd been among all of those packed in the auditorium to be presented with these 'New Directions.' There were just six of them back then. They didn't seem like much, but then they started to sing and dance, and almost immediately Sugar would recall her back straightening up… She didn't know what it was about them, but they touched her curiosity, which was a feat all on its own.

Thus began a two-year tug-of-war.

She excelled in observing, lacked follow through. Someone had told her that once… she couldn't remember who… wasn't important. What was important was that eventually she'd come to the conclusion maybe it was true. Her father had all this money, so it would have seemed like it'd be easy to make things happen. Not only did he have this money but he would give it to her, without any restraint, if she were to ask him for it. She could have it all, but she was more calculating than to go at this just because she could, no… She was worth more than that. Her father's generosities were only to be called on for precise and achievable goals. Money couldn't solve her biggest problem, even though she'd tried.

She had no real friends… or any friends, if she was honest with herself, which she was… Sometimes she wished she wasn't, that she could lie to herself. Instead she was left with 'honest' questions. Why didn't people like her? Why didn't they get her and how amazing she knew she was? Her father certainly told her she was, but he was her father, what else would he say? After a while, it could get lonely, resting in self-admiration on her own.

But then there'd been those kids, the Glee Club. She'd never spoken to any of them directly, but she knew enough about them from around school to know that they should be exactly the people who would understand how she felt.

She'd read up on the whole thing, Glee Club, show choir… It seemed easy enough, and they would need more people, so… maybe she could audition…

The whole thing was about making them want her. That could have looked easy, because why wouldn't they want her, but she had to think about it. What it had come down to was she had to look on top of her game, confident… just walk in there, sing… blow them away. It would seem spontaneous, but of course she would have prepared intensely. She considered what style would both suit her and advance the goal she sought to achieve. After a handful to a dozen tests, she'd decided: Broadway… dramatic… Oh, yes, this would work…

And then she'd choked.

She didn't know what it was, maybe the sudden influx of members. First they'd gone from six to nine, when those three Cheerios had joined. And then not long after it had been the three football players, making them twelve. All these new people at once, popular ones at that… She'd get lost in the fray, ignored or forgotten, no… that wasn't how Sugar Motta liked it.

So for the moment her ideas of Glee Club fame were put on the back burner. Dust had to settle before her entrance could be seen. She could wait. It would give her more time to prepare.

Vocal lessons had been a breeze. The coach her father had hired had claimed there was nothing he could teach her, which she took to mean she was excellent; she tended to agree. Dance lessons were a different matter. She already had a certain base for that, but she could do more there, so she did.

Even if she'd told herself that Glee Club was a no go for now, she wasn't blind. She saw them, around school, saw them performing. She attended even their competitions, noted losses and wins… She saw what they could and couldn't do, by her calculations, and as time passed she grew more and more convinced in her own abilities. They would see, too… soon.

When she'd finally considered the dust to have settled properly, she now found the obstacle to be… herself. She'd blame it on her getting hit with a flu that had kept her bedridden for a week, but deep down she'd know the truth was on that morning she'd felt relief that her being sick was going to keep her from auditioning.

Observance… no follow through…

It frustrated her, so she pushed it even further in her mind, maybe never to be considered ever again… They weren't that good, she tried to tell herself. So the year ended, summer came, and she had not thought about Glee Club even once.

Then came the new year, fresh with possibilities for the world to embrace her, to sweeten their lives with a little Sugar… And then out had come Glee Club, a surprise performance outside. There were eleven of them, now that the one guy had moved. 'Perfect, because they need twelve, remember?' a little voice had told her. 'You can be their new star in their time of need.' But she didn't see the point of putting herself through that again. So for the sake of argument, in this case she'd let the opportunity go by.

Then it was like they were trying to recreate a pull. The gym, again, the assembly, again, and the New Directions… Sure, the whole thing had turned into a stampede – she was quick and small, she could get out, easy – but first there had been the song. The little voice had to deal with her steeled determination to ignore them, but it had a secret ally: her spine. Just like the year before, she just sat up straight when she watched them, and she hadn't even realized she was doing it until right before someone had pulled the fire alarm and she'd become much more preoccupied with escaping than with her body's responses to the Glee Club.

So maybe she could address the possibility, again… She had nothing to lose… Of course then they had found their new twelfth member, so her master plan had fallen to bits. Her timing didn't improve, shortly thereafter, when Kurt's departure had once again signalled the search for a new voice. Here her chance had been snatched by Lauren… She'd seen the girl fight; she wasn't getting in the way of that.

The more time went by, the more she developed conflicting emotions. On the one hand she hated that she hadn't gone for it back in the day, back when they didn't know each other and it could be easier to infiltrate the ranks. Now they'd had all this time together, time to become a unit, and what would she be? The newbie? Fat chance…

On the other side, maybe to protect herself, she just grew in her belief that they were nothing special, especially when compared to her. As time went on, she became more and more detached from her old goal, and yet she continued to attend their competitions.

A third year began. This would be her year, she could feel it. This would be the year for Sugar Motta, one way or another… She had abandoned the idea that this 'way' could involve Glee Club, because why would she put herself through that… And then the cafeteria happened.

She was just sitting, not minding the fact that they were all in her line of sight in the least, and then it was last year all over again with the sneak attack. No, she wasn't going to pay attention, she… It was hard to concentrate with Noah Puckerman flexing in front of you…

It was some time after the first volley of flying spaghetti that she'd decided it was high time for a little follow through, the Motta way. She'd go in there, show them what they'd been missing, and then the last two years wouldn't have been in vain… She finally got her moment in the sun, and then… clouds.

He'd said no… the giant curl head of a teacher had said no, and just like that he'd unleashed a fury in her never matched before.

Now she would act, now she would fight. Any good fight needed funding… good thing she had her father… Now she knew exactly what she had to do, and it would be fierce. It would be even better than anything she'd planned before, see what they thought of her then…

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!