So you have stumbled across this story. It has been one I have been dying to write ever since I watched The Time TravelersWife. If that isn't any indication of where I will be going with this story I don't know what is. If you read the book and/or seen the movie I hope you won't put too much pressure on me. If you haven't done either I hope you enjoy the story, but know that I did not come up with this concept on my own. Anyways enjoy this first chapter. I would love to hear what you guys think!
September 1st marks a lot of things in life. The beginning of a month, the beginning of a school year. For me it marked the beginning of a lifetime. Since the last time I saw her I had been counting down the moments until today came. She was reluctant to give me this date, not wanting me to waste away waiting for it to come. I was and will always be very persistent. She knew this about me and told me that it was going to come in handy in the future.
The future was now. Today was my new beginning.
Everyone gets that chance to walk into high school as a freshman. It is like you are handed a clean slate with the ability to dress it with anything you see fit. I've always known who I was and who I would become. She didn't tell me these things. It's just something I've known my entire life. My fathers raised me to be a star. Ever since I set foot in that dance studio down on Parks Street I've felt this undying thirst to keep performing. No number of recitals, plays, or impromptu performances at the mall have been able to satisfy my need to be the star of the show. This day was the beginning of my high school career. The beginning of my quest to find out what I needed to succeed. This day marked the first time I would see her in the present.
As I walked through the halls of McKinley it was overwhelming but also exciting to see all of these new faces. After several months of heavy convincing, my dads finally let me attend public school. I enjoyed my private tutors and after school one on one sessions with the best vocal instructors in the state, but I was ready to put those skills to the test on my own. Plus this was the only way I could think of to find her.
The bulletin board immediately caught my attention. Glee Club Audition SIgn Ups were highlighted in big bold letters. With a star and a smile I signed my name below a couple others on the sheet. I went over the names with a sliver of hope that one may catch my eye. It wasn't there but I let it go. She always emphasized this idea of time. I would need patience.
The student body of McKinley was the biggest cliche I had ever seen. You had your freaks and geeks, jocks and cheerleaders, and everyone in-between. I wasn't sure where I fit it just yet. Placing myself in the in-between category seemed like the safest bet. I was hoping to make a few friends on the first day of school but as the clock struck three it looked like that was out of the question. I've been better on my own in most scenarios. Growing up I would throw myself into my talent and consider everyone else a threat. It wasn't until I met her that I realized maybe having friends, or just having her, wouldn't be so bad.
I still had Glee Club try-outs to look forward to. As soon as I entered the choir room I was met with three other unfamiliar faces. I turned on competition mode and began warming up alone. The others seemed to know one another or were at least acting like it. 'Kurt' was the first one called to the auditorium. I sat and waited for my turn. Eventually 'Mercedes' and 'Tina' left to give their auditions.
Since the first time I met her, I would do this thing at every performance where I would picture her watching me from the audience. It got me through those long nights and solos where I was scared to death. Just the thought of her gave me the courage I needed to put my heart into a performance. This was only an audition, but I still needed her to be with me. The thought that she could actually be walking around somewhere in this school gave me the chills. I heard my name being called so I walked to the auditorium.
The man with the curly hair sitting at the middle desk in the auditorium introduced himself as Mr. Schuester, director of the Glee Club. I gave him a charming smile and began my well rehearsed version of Les Miserables "On My Own". I have been singing this song all my life. When I was only eight years old I landed the part of Cosette in the musical at a community theater. It wasn't the big leagues but it's where I pinpoint getting my start.
As I sing the song a million emotions begin running through my head. The afternoon after my eight year old audition, I came home in tears. There were so many other girls that I thought did so much better than me. My fathers tried to reassure me. "You did your best Rachel. No one was better than you," they'd say but it wasn't enough for me. I was an eight year old with a lot of heart and devotion to the things I wanted out of life. Needing to escape my head and the comfort of my fathers, I found myself wandering in the meadows behind our house. I was smart enough to bring a blanket so I wouldn't have to sit in the dirt. I was pretty far from my home. I could see only the top of the roof looming over the hills. It was a thrilling feeling to be so far away. It was my own little world. The excitement quickly faded as I heard a twig snap in the trees. I was undoubtedly frightened but curious in the only way that an eight year old can be.
I called out to the woods, trying to figure out who or what was hiding behind the brush. When I didn't receive an answer I began to walk closer to the trees. I needed to investigate. I took one step and heard someone call out for me to stop.
"Who's there?" I tried to hide the panic in my voice. My dads always said if you seem scared it attracts the danger.
"I don't mean to cause you any harm Rachel, but can you please throw me your blanket." The voice was distinguishable to be an older woman's but I was still wary.
"Why should I?"
"I would like to prove to you that I am not a scary person, but my..condition has left me without any clothes. If you could be so inclined to give me your blanket, I can come out."
They sounded genuine so I ran back to the field and gave the blanket a hard toss into the woods. Hesitantly I backed up, wondering if I had made a huge mistake. Moments later a tall blond emerged from the woods. She wore nothing but my blanket and a radiant smile. I continued to back away from her.
"It's okay Rachel. I promise I won't hurt you."
"How do you know my name?"
The blond laughed. It was a pretty laugh. I found myself smiling. She continued, "My name is Quinn. I know you from the future."
Now was my turn to laugh. This must be dad and daddy's idea of a joke to cheer me up. Quinn looked at me with an eyebrow raised, as if I was the one who had gone crazy. I turned around to try and find my dads sneaking up behind me, but found nothing.
"You don't believe me do you?"
I shook my head. She kept that beautiful smile on her face and motioned for me to come sit down next to her on a convenient tree stump. Quinn patiently waited for me to start asking questions, but I didn't know where to begin. Kindly she decided to go ahead with her story, "I am a time traveler. Currently I am visiting you from the year 2030. I know your name because I know you in this year."
I was still not convinced. Time travel was impossible. Quinn kept talking, "If you stick around long enough I'll prove it to you." My head turned quickly to look at her with excitement. Quinn noticed my enthusiasm and laughed.
"So Rachel tell me what you're doing all the way out here by yourself."
Talking to a stranger was better than talking to my crazy therapist that my dads had set me up with so I decided to take advantage of this opportunity. I told Quinn about my botched audition. She placed a comforting arm around my shoulders, but instead of telling me I probably did great like my fathers did, she asked a simple question.
"Will you sing for me?"
I have never been one to deny the request to hear me perform so I stood up from our seat and began the opening lines of "On My Own". It wasn't my audition piece but I loved the song more than any other one in the show. A goal of mine was to play the role of Eponine when I got older. I watched Quinn watch me sing, something I never do. I don't like to see people's reactions, because it usually throws me off. However watching Quinn kept me centered. About halfway through I saw some tears begin to form in her eyes. As I finished the last line I saw something amazing begin to happen. Quinn's skin became almost transparent as she began to fade away. I wanted to tell her to stop, to not leave me.
She smiled, "See?"
"No! Don't go!"
"I will be back. I promise." With those words she disappeared into thin air. My blanket fell to the ground with a thud. The end of a book poked out from under the covers. I knew I had not brought one out with me so assumed it must be from Quinn. Opening the front page I saw a list of dates. I quickly paged through the rest of it and noticed it was filled with dates. Going back to the first page I realized that today was listed at the top. The next date read a week from now. In what I could only hope was the answer to her promise and Quinn's next visit.
Flashing back to the present I finished the last line of my audition with no tears forming in the eyes of Mr. Schuester. He did give me a standing ovation so that was a good thing. On his microphone he called back Kurt, Mercedes, and Tina. With a dramatic pause he announced that we had all made it into the glee club. A smile lit up my face as I watched my three fellow members jump around in joy. They all came over and congratulated me. Maybe I hadn't failed at making friends the first day of school.
