AN/DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN GLEE OR ANY SONGS CONTAINED WITHIN THIS STORY. I hope you enjoy this, even though I'm not a genius and some of this story is based on me and my friends life, & cootoes to you if you know who Spencer Reid is. This story starts Sophomore year just before theatricality

Songs In This Chapter

Breakaway- by Kelly Clarkson- sung by Cali and Kurt

Name: California 'Cali' Altman

Age: 12

IQ: 179

City of origin: Seattle

DOB: 31/06/1997

School: William McKinley High School

Family: Lydia Altman née Hummel- Mother

Peter Altman - Step-Father

Alec Altman - Older Step-Brother (19)

Spencer Reid - cousin via. biological father (27)

Burt Hummel- uncle

Kurt Hummel- cousin (16)

On the outside Cali Altman was like any normal twelve year old, a bit smaller than most her age but she had average features; a heart shaped face, shoulder-length dark brunette hair, violet eyes, was of average weight, but Cali was anything but normal. Cali was a special child. Once anyone met her they could see that someday she would be something great. The reason for her speciality: her mind; in short Cali Altman was a child genius, a prodigy or what she was sometimes called by her step-brother Alec: a freak of natural causes. From the time she could comprehend a word on a page she filled her head with knowledge from books, from the time she could type she took knowlege from the Internet and from the time she could speak she relayed facts like a transponder. All of her life adults had told her she was something extraordinary, children her own age didn't get her and neither did her classmates whom were frequently three to five years older (depending on how many grades she had skipped), because she was smarter her class mates ridiculed her, they were merciless, they constantly were teasing her for the fact she was younger, yet so much smarter than them, and having parents that were halfway across the world half of the time didn't help matters. It wasn't that her parents didn't love her, it was their jobs. Cali's mother and step-father were surgeons in Seattle, but when a big natural disaster struck somewhere in the world they would go there, and help the medics with the casualties , so Cali was basically raised for most of her life by her step-brother Alec and her cousin Spencer Reid. When Cali's parents had to go jet off to a disaster zone in some far off country they would send her and her step-brother to live with Cali's cousin who was her biological father's nephew, but Spencer was an FBI agent with the BAU, so they had to live at the other side of the country in DC and Spencer was frequently away on cases and was always very busy. But Cali loved her cousin Spencer because, he was like her, a fully fledged genius and even though he should have been working all the time, he still made time for Cali and Alec, he taught Cali how to play chess and how to play the violin, he taught Alec about Art and history. He cooked the dinner from scratch every night that he could, played board and card games with the both of them, bought Cali her books and sheet music and Alec his paint and canvases. He was like a father to both Alec and Cali.

A year ago Cali and Alec parents made a big decision and put a bid in for a grant to get money to go and give kids much-needed surgeries, a month ago they heard they had got it and that's where our story begins.

On a cold and blustery November morning Lydia, Peter, Alec and Cali Altman stood on the front porch of the Hummel's house, they looked quite disheveled and sleep deprived. Cali had an extremely large suitcase trawling behind her, and her big step-brother Alec was holding three boxes stacked on top of each other containing some of Cali's stuff. The reason why Cali's stuff was packed into multiple boxes and three suitcases is that her mother and step-father were going to Zambia to be surgeons because they had got the Carter Maddison grant for Paediatrics and her brother was going off to some London university (taking Art and design),and Spencer was doing some university course in Paris so he while he was on a short leave of absence from the BAU so he couldn't take care of her, so Cali would be living with her uncle Burt and her cousin Kurt; both of whom she had never met; for the foreseeable future. The door opened to reveal a man in his forties in a base-ball cap and a flannel shirt. Lydia went and hugged the man.

"It's good to see you too Lyd." Burt said to his kid sister. He turned to Cali, "You must be California?" he asked.

"That's me but everyone calls me Cali, you must be Burt?" she said with a smile.

"Yeah, that's me, why don't you guys come on in." he said and the Altman's stepped in the doors. "put the boxes by the stairs." he said to Alec. "Kurt!" Burt shouted "Your cousin is here!" and with in a few seconds a tall, thin teenage boy in very feminine clothing appeared beside Burt. "Kurt this is Lydia's daughter Cali she's the one who will be staying with us, could you show her where her room is, I have to sort some things out with aunt Lydia and Peter?" he asked his son.

"Yeah sure come on," he motioned for me to follow him up the stairs with an exceedingly high-pitched voice. He grabbed the three boxes and Cali took her suitcase and what looked like an electric guitar or bass case to Kurt and dragged them up the stairs heavy as they were. At the top of the stairs he turned left into a door which she took as her bedroom, so she entered. It was quite a big room, the room at Cali's old house in Seattle was bigger, but she thought it was still a nice room. Three walls were painted a golden cream colour and one was an emerald green. There was a single bed, two chest of drawers either side of the bed, a wardrobe and a vanity, it was quite sweet in a way to Cali.

"Cali is short for something I assume?" he questioned, putting the boxes down on the bed.

"Yeah, my full name is California, but I don't like it, I think it's stupid naming a kid after a state." Cali walked over to the bed and sat down.

"I think it's a beautiful name, it suits you." Kurt complimented sincerely.

"Thank, you have a lovely house by the way." she complemented smiling.

"Thanks." Kurt said smiling as well. "Well this is your room, it used to be mine about 4 years ago before I moved in to my new room, I hope you like it." he said, she beckoned him to sit down on the bed, he complied. Kurt eyed Cali up and down she was extremely small and petite and was wearing a simple jeans and hoodie, 'good' Kurt thought 'simple and effortless but beautiful and fashionable' he thought about her clothes.

"What's it like here in Lima?" she questioned suddenly causing Kurt to break from his chain of thought.

"What do you want to know?" Kurt inquired.

"Well I already know that only 18,290 the equivalent 47.2% of the population in Lima is female, whereas there has been a 3.3% drop in the overall population since 2000, the average income a ye-" Kurt stopped her in her tracks.

"What age are you, again?" he asked, Cali scolded herself, once she started with her facts everyone looked at her like she was a freak, though she took pride in being different, although it did hurt when people automatically labeled her as a weirdo with a big I.Q, when she looked up and on Kurt's face there was a look of amazement not ridicule or disdain . A Cheshire grin appeared on Cali's face.

"I'll be turning thirteen in two months." she beamed, so far no one was ever interested once she started to sprout facts except him.

"You're twelve, are you some sort of-" Kurt asked awkwardly but was cut off by Cali.

"Genius, child prodigy, freak of natural causes, take your pick, I am currently going to be a sophomore at the local high school, which I'm starting on the day they get back after the thanksgiving holidays." Cali got up off the bed, opened a box and took a few of my many, many posters along with sticky tack out.

"Well, we might be in the same classes because I'm a sophomore too," Kurt unrolled one of the posters. Cali unrolled her Blink 182 poster and tacked it to the wall opposite her bed.

"Oh, I'm sorry I forgot to ask is it alright I put these up?" Cali asked.

"Yeah, sure you can. I see you like music?" he said holding open a poster of five for fighting.

"Yeah, back home in Seattle, that's where I'm from, I was in the orchestra, but they usually did old songs, most of which were boring, but I've always enjoyed singing." Cali said, tacking a poster of Back To the Future above her bed.

"If you love music there's this club I go to in school called New directions we're a glee club. You could join, if you want?" he conjectured. Cali's head immediately shot out the box she was digging in.

"Glee club: as in competitive show choir?"

"Yep we just won our sectionals a few weeks ago and our regionals in a couple of months,"

"I'm not that sure, me I mean singing in front of a live audience?" she asked rhetorically to herself. "I'm not that good." she sighed shaking her head and went back to unpacking.

"Well judging by the way you're denying your good, you haven't performed in front of an audience bar orchestra, so how do you know?" he answered. Cali didn't say anything. "I bet your ju-" Kurt was interrupted by a voice not coming from in the room.

"You two come on down!" it was Burt shouting from the bottom of the stairs. Kurt and Cali glided out the door and down the stairs quickly and we both went into the living room, Cali's family and Kurt's dad sitting on the couches.

The families talked about how Cali will have a bank account that all the stuff she needs can be withdrawn from, how they were assigning Burt co-guardianship, so it means if she wants to go visit Spencer when he got back from London and he could make d for her I'd god forbid anything happened to her while she was with him, then they talked about, Cali's new school and the classes she'd be taking. Then they talked about how to contact Cali's parents if anything happened. Soon they realised it was noon and that Cali's parents and Alec had to go catch their flights so they ended the conversation.

"I think we need to go to catch our flights, you see we have to drive to New York, us to catch our flights; Lydia and I to Zambia and Alec to London and University." Peter said getting up of the couch, Lydia regrettably following.

"Come here honey," Cali slowly got up off her seat and went to hug her mum. Cali squeezed her mum with all her might, but her Mum didn't care because this was probably the last time she will see her daughter for a year or maybe two years. "I know, I haven't been the ideal mother but I love you more than an ideal mother, you know that?" Cali let go and nodded. Cali went to Peter, her step-father, she didn't like him so it wouldn't be that much of hardship to say goodbye to him. Peter stuck out his hand, I took it, it was firm, cold, unfeeling and strict just like Peter himself.

"Goodbye Cali." he said and he ruffled her hair with his hand, she immediately fixed it annoyed, he knew Cali hated that. Last but not least was Cali's brother. In her whole family her step-brother was the person Cali was closest to, looking at the two you would never have thought they were related, he was a big muscly, tall, tan-skinned and blond. Cali was pale, petite and brunette and yet they worked as a perfect team, Cali did all his history, maths and english homework and he helped her keep her straight A streak in every subject by implementing his skills at art which Cali was incompetent at. Alec crouched down from his massive height to be level with Cali.

"Okay, Seven it's over to you now let's see if you can grow out of you Borg shell, your turn to take the ship," he said with wit referencing his and Cali's shared love of all things Star Trek.

"Good luck number one." Cali said and the hugged him around his waist tightly. "don't leave Alec." she pleaded in a whisper, still hugging him.

"I have to Cali, just like you will go to college in a couple of years too." he said in her ear. They parted slowly.

"Goodbye, Alec,and good luck" Cali said and stepped back sighing, knowing she would not be able to dissuade him in the first place. Cali's mother then picked up her hand bag and then said good bye to Kurt, Burt and hugged Cali again, the rest said all their good byes as they walked out of the door. Cali, Burt and Kurt stood in the drive way to see them off. Cali felt someone put her hand on her shoulder her family drove away, she looked up to see who it was; it was Burt.

"You okay kiddo?" he asked as the car turned the bend and disappeared.

"Yeah I'm okay." Cali reassured Burt, but he was not convinced.

"Kurt." He gestured for his son to come to in after Cali had gone in.

"Yeah." Kurt replied.

"I know Cali's a genius, but she has this thing called ADHD, it's accute and doesn't come to show very often. It means she can get a little eccentric at times and is a bit volatile so watch out for her at school." Burt warned his son as they walked in the door.

"I was going to anyway." Kurt stated shrugging.

"Being ripped from your family at such a young age, even though you're probably the smartest one of them has gotta hurt ant to say good bye to them." he thought. Burt went into the shop to work on a car and Kurt and Cali grabbed the rest of the boxes and cases and brought them up the stairs.

"When you were saying goodbye to your mum, my dad told me we could go tomorrow and bye paint to paint your room." Kurt said on his way into Cali's room.

"Cool." Cali said lying on the bed, staring up at the ceiling, boxes on the floor.

"Well you and I could meet up at the mall with my friends; you are going to be in the same year as them after all, and we can't do anything with your room because we're painting it tomorrow so we can't unpack your stuff, plus it's only two Noon on a saturday and I need to go shopping?" Kurt sighed, sensing a bit of tension between the two. Cali got up off the bed and took down the tacked up posters.

"I suppose we could; can I change first we just drove from Seattle?" Cali asked.

"Yeah I'll be in my room down in the basement when your finished, I'll ask my friends to meet us in half an hour?" Kurt questioned.

"I'll be down five minuets at the most." Cali smiled as Kurt walked out the door, down the stairs and into his room to text his friends.

"Gotta surprise 4 U

come to the mall in an hour

And meet me by the food court

And be hungry!" Kurt forwarded the message to Mercedes, Rachel, Quinn and Tina. All of them replied with 'yes's' and 'yeah's'

"I'm ready!" shouted Cali from up stairs. Kurt could hear someone running down the stairs. When she reached his room Kurt was unsettled to see her hair up in messy bun wearing a pair of grey combat boots, black jeggings (The worst fashion offence since petty coats) , a golden cream T-shirt with a open button-up shirt that had an army camouflage pattern on it. When Kurt looked a bit closer he could see that she was wearing two things round her neck, Kurt seen what looked like a sniper bullet on a chain! Kurt was utterly and completely shocked, he thought Cali was a sweet, lovely albeit genius little girl, the person he saw in front of him was a little monster, and not the good kind! The other necklace was tucked under her shirt, but he could see a shabby old chain around her neck and the outline of an oval under her shirt. "Something wrong, Kurt?" Cali asked

"Are you sure you want to be wearing that in public?" Kurt replied with a question. A confused expression appeared on Cali's face

"These our my favourite clothes." Cali said with dead calm.

"Sorry, but you look like you have either just been discharged from the army or walked out of a 1980's Rock n' Roll concert. I am personally going to buy you a set of clothes that are a bit sweeter." Kurt sighed.

"You ever try to make me or call me sweet or cute again you'll wake up the next morning with pink eyes and sewn lips, understand?" shouted Cali. Kurt was about to take her up on that offer but then he remembered two things: Cali was a genius and could do those things and two: she had ADHD and was just being volatile.

"Let's go!" said Kurt grabbing the keys for his car and Cali grabbed her handbag..

They both went to the garage and climbed into Kurt's navigator. When Kurt turned on the car, the radio started blasting music at high-volume. Cali instantaneously knew which song it was.

"Grew up in a small town

And when the rain would fall down

I'd just stare out my window

Dreaming of what could be

And if I'd end up happy

I would pray" Cali sang at a constant level.

"Trying hard to reach out

But when I'd try to speak out

Felt like no one could hear me

Wanted to belong here

But something felt so wrong here

So I pray

I could breakaway" Kurt sang as if he was illustrating the story of his unfortunate life, Oh wait he was!

"I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly

I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky

And I'll make a wish, take a chance, make a change

And breakaway

Out of the darkness and into the sun

But I won't forget all the ones that I loved

I'll take a risk, take a chance, make a change

And breakaway" Cali diminuendoed into a low note.

"Wanna feel the warm breeze

Sleep under a palm tree

Feel the rush of the ocean" she sang at a constant.

"Buildings with a hundred floors

Swinging 'round revolving doors

Maybe I don't know where they'll take me but

Gotta keep moving on, moving on

Fly away, breakaway" Kurt crescendoed into an easily put high note.

"I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly

Though it's not easy to tell you goodbye

I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change

And breakaway" Cali sang with emotion and power.

"Out of the darkness and into the sun

But I won't forget the place I come from

I gotta take a risk, take a chance, make a change

And breakaway, breakaway, breakaway" they both finished in sync with the music in perfect time, Kurt was amazed, he was pretty sure his jaw had hit his lap. " That wasn't that good was it?" she said frowning "Did you know that the first glee club was in London's Harrow school in 1787?." Cali said at the speed of light trying to cover up with facts, that's what Cali does when she doesn't feel comfortable, is scared or thinks she has failed she spews facts. "Did you also know that the word glee comes from the Anglo-Saxon word -" Kurt stopped her from saying anything further.

"Cali, you don't have to spew out facts to cover something, you were amazing, you could definitely give Rachel a good run for her money and definitely could audition for glee club."

"Whose that?"

"Who's who?"

"Rachel, you said I could give her a run for her money." Cali stated simply.

"Just friends of mine, one of the ones we're going to meet. We're meeting Tina she's a Goth but is funny and sweet, Rachel she's egotistical and pompous but has good intentions and is our female lead in glee. Quinn is pregnant, but don't say anything about it," Cali nodded "and my best friend Mercedes, she's a pure diva like me if I were straight we'd be the power couple of glee club, not Jesse and Rachel." Kurt sighed. Cali's eyebrows and ears stuck up.

"You're gay?" she asked.

"Yep, it's quite obvious to most people," he said gesturing to his clothes.

"I've learnt not to judge by appearances, would you think I would know how to make a atomic bomb?" Kurt shook his head. "Yet I do." Cali paused for a moment. " Kurt, could you not tell them that I'm going to be a sophomore?"

"Yeah, but why?"

"Because I want them to know me by other than my genius abilities , wouldn't you prefer me to introduce my self like 'Hi I'm Cali Altman, Kurt's twelve year old cousin, notice to meet you' as opposed to 'Hello, my name is California Sherlock Altman, I'm only twelve but I'm a sophomore. I'm a autodidactic with an eidetic memory pleased to meet you too'?" she said with sass.

"Your middle name is Sherlock!" Kurt said stifling a snigger.

"Really! That's all you got from that rant!" Cali sighed loudly. Kurt took the keys out of his car, and they both got out. They walked through the main hall of the mall, sure enough four people were standing beside the food court. A brunette with a big nose, a pregnant-looking blonde, a oriental girl with blue highlights in her hair and a slightly plump dark-skinned girl.

"Hey Kurt!" the dark-skinned girl said when we came up to them.

"Who's this?" asked the girl with the big nose.

"I'm Kurt's cousin, California Altman although everyone calls me Cali. I'm going to be living with him." said Cali. All the girls eyed up and down the new addition to the group like she was a specimen on a slab that needed dissected in a biology class.

"We all hungry?" Kurt asked, with collective yes's from all of them they headed to the food court.

When everyone got back to the table from their distinctive places they commenced a conversation.

"Okay Cali this is Tina Cohen-Chang, Quinn Fabrey, Mercedes Jones and Rachel Berry, and Tina, Quinn, Rachel and Mercedes, this is California Altman," Kurt said introducing everyone properly and pointing to respective person.

"Where are you from Cali?" asked Rachel taking a bite of her salad.

"Seattle, but I lived between there and Washington." said Cali eating her chicken noodles.

"Cali's living with me because her parents are in Zambia giving surgeries to kids." 'Kurt explained

"You must miss them?" Quinn said as more of a statement than a question.

"Actually, I only arrived today and I probably will miss them, but I'll miss my step-brother Alec the most though, he's in university in London studying art and design."

"You do know it is a bit ironic that your mum and dad are surgeons, live in Seattle and that you second name is Altman, then you move in and live with the biggest Grey's anatomy fan on the planet?" Mercedes asked rhetorically.

"Kurt you like Grey's anatomy? " Cali asked.

"We all do." said Quinn sipping some of her water.

"Who's your favourite?" asked Tina squeezing in on the conversation. Cali thought about it.

"Well my favourite girls are Lexie and Christina, and of the boys Alex, back home me and my best friends Laurie and Irene used to watch it and fight over who was cuter, that new kid Avery, Alex or George. Although I stick by my decision of Alex?" all of the people looked at Cali with an 'are you serious?' look. Cali laughed, put a hand on the bridge of her nose and shook her heads.

About six hours and a group collective 24 store purchases later the shops were starting to close so the group started to disintegrate until only Cali and Kurt were left.

"Come on let's go home. We're going need energy to paint your room tomorrow." Kurt said and they walked to the car a drove home. When they got there they decided to move all of the furniture in Cali's into the middle of the room (which took a hour and nearly broke both Kurt and Cali's backs), so they could start painting in the morning. Kurt and Cali skipped dinner due to them both having a big lunch at the mall. After that Cali took out a set of pyjamas and a set of old clothes to paint with tomorrow, she changed and went downstairs to Kurt's basement dwelling where she would sleeping the night on the couch due to the movement of the furniture in said person's new bedroom. Cali also dug out some DVD's from her suitcase as well. "What do you want to do?" Kurt asked.

"I have a couple of my favourite movies and Tv shows?" Cali asked more than stated. Kurt beckoned her to come sit beside him on his bed. She laid the DVD's out for him to see. There was her favourite TV show Bones, another TV show made in Britain called Sherlock, a few Indiana Jones movies, the two Mummy movies and about six or seven box sets of Star Trek. Cali could tell by his expression that he either didn't know or like them, ""e could watch one of your musicals you were telling me about?" his face lightened up. Kurt and Rachel had told her about musical theatre and film while they were at the mall and Cali had seemed fascinated by it.

"Well I have singing in the rain, Grease, my fair lady, Annie get your gun and calamity jane, I have more but I let Rachel borrow most of them, which reminds me I have to get them back." Kurt went off in a tangent. "We could watch Grease it's fun, I think you would like it?"

"Okay" said Cali in an apprehensive tone.

Kurt put Grease in the DVD player and Cali was plunged into a world of the singing, dancing, heart-throbs, heartbreaks and shenanigans of the students of Rydell high.

When the DVD was finished about two and a half hours later they were both sitting on the bed cross-legged, and the closing credits rolled onto the screen.

"What did you think of that?" asked Kurt.

"It was adroit, I enjoyed it though it was cloy in dance numbers and songs." Kurt's eyebrows knitted in pure confusion "it was ample but there was too much jumping about and singing and not enough acting for my taste." Cali rephrased, Kurt understood and nodded. "Who else is in glee club, besides the girls I met today?" Cali asked curious.

"Well, there's Santana and Brittany; they're cheerios then-"

"What's a Cheerio?"

"They're cheerleaders, I'm one as well as Mercedes, Quinn used to be one before she got pregnant, there was a whole drama she was going out with Finn but Puck got her pregnant," Kurt tangents off telling Cali what has happened during glee club the whole year right up until a few weeks ago when Jesse joined. Cali was fascinated with this club from what she heard from Kurt she could probably give them all a profile. 'Just like spence!" she thought. From an early age Cali had understood what her cousin Spencer did for a job, he figured out how to catch criminals by studying their behaviour, Cali wanted to follow in her cousins footsteps one day, so Spencer had taught her bits of profiling over the years, how to tell when someone was lying and how to get the truth out of someone and this club sounded more interesting than some of the profiles of the most psychotic killers her cousin had told her about. 'this should be interesting.' she thought.

The conversation quickly progressed from the people in glee club to the type of music that the each of them liked.

"Favourite song?" Cali quizzed.

"No business like show business, what about you?"

"Either Bohemian rhapsody by Queen or..." Cali bit her lip and started to blush.

"It can't be that bad, what is it rap?" Cali shook her head "opera then?" Cali gave him an 'are you serious?' look "Come on you can tell me." Kurt reassured her. She hesitated.

"It's 'I'm with you' by Avril Lavigne. It was mine and Alec's song, we used to sing it in the car on the way to school."

"That's not that bad, granted it's not one of my favourites but it's still half decent song, why would you think that it would be bad?" Kurt questioned curious. Cali hesitated, she dosen't want to brig up the past, it's too painful.

"The kids at school used to tease me about liking songs by people like Avril Lavingne, James Morrison, the who, Queen." Cali lied, there was an akward silence "It's eleven can we go to sleep?" Cali said abruptly, Kurt nodded and Cali got on the couch and pulled the fleece banket over head and buckeled down for the night.

End of Capter on Pelease tell me what you gyus think