Throughout most of the day Rachel was in good spirits. Mr. Schue had given her the solo in their upcoming performance for the school assembly. Although nobody else really wanted it she still considered it a victory in her book, a gold star.
Although the pep rally wasn't for another few weeks Rachel was excited to showcase her talent in front of the school even if they don't appreciate it. Rachel thought of it as life training, getting booed off stage in high school is just preparation for her future time on Broadway. Not every production is bound to be a hit, there will be bad reviews and being in the Glee club, doing school performances is just desensitizing her from the eventual bad critiques.
Despite the fact that it was highly probable that she would be laughed off stage no matter what, Rachel Berry ducked out of lunch early to go into the Glee room to practice. Lunch recently had been dull anyway. Finn had to meet with Mr. Schuester during lunch period for extra dance practice; Finn didn't mind all that much, he knew he needed the practice and always had time to eat afterwards. Rachel was really proud that Finn was putting in extra effort into becoming a more rounded performer. However the extra dance sessions led to Rachel sitting alone in the lunch room, she tried sitting with Mercedes and Shane but it almost seemed like she was unwanted.
She tried other seating arrangements with other Glee members but it didn't quite work out. The solo was a blessing because it gave Rachel an excuse to leave lunch early to go to the Glee room instead of sitting awkwardly as the third wheel with Mercedes and Shane or Tina and Mike.
As she was leaving the lunch room a group of football players were coming in. It was very unfortunate timing. They had slushies and vowed to throw it at the first nerd they saw.
Needless to say Rachel didn't make it to the Glee room, instead she ran into the nearest bathroom hoping the burning in her eyes wouldn't last the entire day. Rushing to turn on the sink she almost didn't hear the person gagging in the farthest stall. While she washed her face off whoever it was in the stall had stopped. She knew that it wasn't any of her business but curiosity got the best of her. "Hello?" No answer. She walked over to the stall. "Is everything ok in there?" Still silence. Rachel crouched down and glanced under the stall to make sure whoever was in there was still alive.
"Stop being a fucking creeper you midget." The sudden break in silence startled Rachel into losing her balance which ultimately ended up with her on the floor while Santana walked out of the stall looking over her. "I know you want a peek of what I gots under this skirt but you can just forget about it cuz it's never gonna happen."
Rachel gave her a look of disbelief as she still sat on the floor. Santana glared back not bothering to help her up. Picking herself up Rachel approached Santana with a sympathetic look which caused Santana to back away. Choosing to ignore the diva Santana walked over to the sink to rinse her mouth.
"Santana..." Rachel walked up next to her. She knew what was really going on. After all Mercedes was all too vocal about Santana's eating habits or lack thereof. And since this year Santana was co-captain she could imagine it came with a lot more stress more pressure to look thin.
The cheerleader was in no mood to talk to anyone much less Rachel Berry. "Fuck off Berry," she said cutting Rachel off. "I just. Can't. Ok?" The loud mouth diva was momentarily speechless. Santana's words always stung a little but Rachel was used to it. This time though it was different. There was no bite in her words. Before Rachel could recuperate her thoughts Santana walked out.
Rachel took the time to wash the stains out of her dress. It was lucky for her after the first few times of being slushied she learned it was always a good idea to bring a bleach pen to school. That or an extra outfit or two for those really bad slushie days. After she looked presentable or at least somewhat presentable given the circumstances she left the bathroom and headed back to the lunch room.
Rachel glanced around the crowded cafeteria. Santana usually sat with the other cheerios but from what she could see the Latina wasn't there. Even at Glee Santana wasn't there. Rachel had a slight suspicion that the Cheerio was avoiding her. It wasn't until Glee club had ended with no trace of Santana that Rachel decided that it was her duty to help Santana, the girl who tortured her throughout most of her high school years.