Hey everyone! Welcome to the first chapter of my new fic. It's based on the movie 'The Parent Trap' but there are going to be some differences and, of course, it's Finchel :D
Thank you so much to anyone who's read/reviewed any of my other fics. I've enabled Anonymous reviews and PMs now if anyone wants to talk to me. :)
So, without further ado; enjoy!
Disclaimer: I wish I owned Glee but somehow I don't think £3.76 is quite enough to buy it...
"Mom, hurry up!" Eva yelled, pulling impatiently on her mother's hand as she marched up to the entrance of the lodge. Her pink bedazzled suitcase clattered along behind her over the dusty path as she almost ran towards the gate. Her mother smiled fondly and quickened her pace, remembering her own enthusiasm at that age.
Eva's dark chocolate hair shone as it caught the mid-afternoon sun, just as her mother's did. They joined the long line of parents waiting with their children to sign in under a sign which read: 'Musical Theatre Camp: Sign in here'
Eva was bouncing up and down, chattering more and more excitedly as they approached the front of the queue.
"Mom! Mom! I'm finally here! I'm finally at my first theatre camp! I'm going to show everyone just how talented I am and I'm going to tell them all about you and how you're the best mommy ever and you're a huge star on Broadway and I'm going to be just like you one day!" she beamed up at her mother, cinnamon eyes sparkling.
"Evie, remember the conversation we had about showing off before we left," her mother reminded her gently.
"Yes, mom," Eva rolled her eyes and recited "I know I'm extremely talented but I need to remember that whilst I can perform to the best of my ability I should also think of other people and not hog the spotlight."
Her mother smiled. "That's it. And don't forget, no showing off about my job. I'm only your mom after all."
"My extremely famous mom who recently played the best Maria the world has ever seen in West Side Story on Broadway," Eva replied.
Her mother laughed. "Well, I suppose. But still, I don't want people to make friends with you because of your talent or your mom's job. I want them to make friends with you because you're Eva and you're a wonderful person."
Eva nodded and held her mother's hand as they arrived at the front of the queue and finally reached the desk.
"Hi, my name is Eva Rose Berry and this is my mom, Rachel Berry," she beamed.
The woman behind the desk looked up from her paperwork.
"The Rachel Berry?" she asked. "It's such a pleasure to meet you, Miss Berry. You're an inspiration to so many people, especially the children at this camp. I'm a huge fan."
"I'm glad to hear it," Rachel smiled, handing over Eva's paperwork and signing the forms in front of her.
"Can I go in now?" Eva begged, almost bursting with enthusiasm.
"Sure, go ahead" the woman behind the desk replied. "Follow the path round to the left and you'll get to the administration cabin where they'll assign your cabin and roommate."
Eva and Rachel rounded the corner together and stopped just outside the cabin.
"Evie, I'm going to go now if that's okay. I need to check in at the airport in half an hour." Rachel said.
Eva nodded "Okay, mom, I'll see you in two weeks' time!"
Rachel smiled at her daughter and enveloped her in a warm hug, which was slightly awkward due to the fact that Eva was already taller than her.
"I'm gonna miss you, Evie. Just remember to be yourself and have a great time. You can call me whenever you want."
"Thanks, mom. I love you," Eva kissed her mom on the cheek and took the handle on her suitcase again, pulling it towards the cabin door as her mother turned and walked away down the path, avoiding the whispers of "Is that Rachel Berry?", "The Rachel Berry?" which seemed to follow her everywhere she went.
As Eva entered the cabin, her eyes took a moment to adjust from the bright sunlight outside. She strolled up to the counter.
"Hi, I'm Eva Berry. Could you please tell me where I'm going to be staying and with whom. I have to tell you, my roommate should be able to appreciate my talent which may well be inferior to mine as I have an upbringing deeply rooting in musical theatre, mostly due to my mom's work. She's a star on Broadway."
"Well, hi Eva. It's a pleasure to meet you. You'll be staying in cabin 18. I'm afraid I can't find the list of roommates at the moment, but your roommate's name should be on the cabin door, along with yours. I'm sure you'll get along with her just fine."
Eva took the site map and cabin key the lady was offering her.
"Thank you very much," she said, flashing her best smile and pulling her bedazzled suitcase out of the door, heading for her cabin.
She strode along the sunny path, humming to herself. When she finally reached the cabin door, she saw the sign bearing its soon-to-be inhabitants' names.
"Eva Berry and Ariella Hudson" she read aloud.
She reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out a fresh sheet of gold star stickers, peeling one off and placing it on the door beside her name. She stood back to admire her handiwork and, satisfied with the result, inserted the cabin key into the lock and opened the door to her home for the next two weeks.
Eva entered into the room, pausing to take in her surroundings. Two beds lay on opposite sides of the room, a door to a small bathroom halfway between them.
She headed over to the bed on the left hand side and rested her suitcase at the foot of it, deciding she'd unpack in the two hours before the evening meal and talent show scheduled on her planner for that day.
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Eva finished putting her final poster on the wall just as the announcement for dinner sounded. Her roommate still hadn't showed up and she could only assume that she either wasn't coming or wasn't the most punctual of people.
She walked into the canteen holding her head high and sat down at a table near the door by a group of girls who looked around her age.
"Hi. I'm Eva Berry. Can I sit here?" she asked, feeling a little uncertain.
A girl with blonde hair and braces smiled at her.
"Sure," she said. "I'm Lily and this is Jenny and Mia. We're from California."
"I'm from New York," Eva told them, swinging her legs over the bench and beginning to eat.
They made small talk for the rest of the meal until Eva jumped up.
"We're going to be late for the talent show! Come on!" she urged. Her new friends followed her out of the dining hall to the theatre pavilion down the path.
She approached the man at the door, who was holding a list of names.
"Can I sign up here to be in the show?" she asked, barely waiting for his nod of confirmation before she neatly wrote her name on the list, sticking a star after it as usual. Her mind raced with suggestions of songs from her repertoire that she could perform.
"Hi, I'm Ariella Hudson and I'll be singing 'On My Own' from the seminal Broadway classic, Les Mis,"
Eva's head snapped up as she heard the British-accented voice ring out from the stage. When had her roommate arrived? And why was she singing the very song that Eva had planned to perform?
Her mouth almost dropped open as Ariella began to sing. She was talented. Eva's annoyance towards the girl began to turn into anger. She could do a far better version of the song herself. Her mother had played Eponine on Broadway just last year, for heaven's sake! A competitive fire began to rise up inside her as she thought quickly of another song to sing.
The beginning notes of 'Don't Rain On My Parade' blasted out and Eva began to sing. She'd seen a video of her mom performing this song when she was in Glee Club in high school and it had won the Sectional round for the whole team. Her mom had told her the story of how she'd saved the day many times before, although, come to think of it, she'd never mentioned why she'd needed to step in at the last minute. Her mom didn't like talking about Glee Club much, which had always made Eva curious because her mom liked talking and she and Uncle Kurt had met through Glee Club.
Eva reached the final note of the song, blasting it out long and loud with the lungs and voice she had inherited from her mother. Her grin of satisfaction returned as she finished – she'd definitely won this show, hands down.
She waited on the side of the stage as the camp director read out the names for third place and then second place.
"And the winner is…" Eva prepared her mega-watt smile and waited for the inevitable announcement of her name.
"It's a tie…" What?
"….Eva Berry and Ariella Hudson!" WHAT?
How had she tied with someone. Eva Rose Berry was the daughter of the most talented performer on Broadway. Who was Ariella Hudson to come and steal her spotlight?
She forced a smile as they received their trophy together on stage, but the she and her roommate shared once they were back in the wings said just one thing to each other:
You're going down.
So... how was it? I know there wasn't any Finchel in this chapter but they will be coming soon, I promise.
I'd love to hear what you think - even two words would be wonderful! Reviews make me write faster so if you want more soon just click that little blue button down there. :)
Thanks for reading!