Marley POV
"Excuse me? Miss Rose? Hi, I am Miss Pillsbury and I will be your guidance counselor. If you ever need anything feel free to come and speak to me!" As I looked around I saw her office was meticulously cleaned and organized. Almost too organized. Everything was in its place, and that included pamphlets with regards to almost every topic you can think of. I am pretty sure I saw one saying, "So You Like Throwing Up?" I looked back in front of me to see the small ginger woman handing me a half sheet of paper. My fingers accidentally grazed hers as I took the paper. "This is your schedule. Do you need any help finding anything?" She asked as she sanitized her hands. I quietly shook my head and turned to leave the office with a quiet thank you mumbled under my breath.
There is nothing worse than being lost in a big school when the halls are crowded and all eyes are on you. Maybe I would not have made such a large ripple in everyone's day-to-day doings if not for being transferred here during the last quarter of school. I put my head down into my map and tried to figure out where I was going. When I found my first class is went up to the teacher and introduced myself. "Hi, I am Marley Rose, and I am in your class now." I fumbled through the books in my arms to find the sheet Miss Pillsbury gave me and passed it along to him.
"I am Mr. Ryan and welcome to Chemistry Honors. You can take a seat anywhere you want." I automatically spotted a seat in the very back and made my way to it sinking down in the chair, wanting to be anywhere but where I am. At least he didn't make me stand in front of the class and introduce myself.
Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the rest of my teachers. By the time lunch came around I had to stand up in front of four of my classes and say something interesting about me. I couldn't think of anything to say so I just said, "Kitty Wilde is my cousin." That seemed to be enough information. My peers were suddenly so interested in anything I had to say. Here is the thing about Kitty, not only is she the prettiest girl I have ever met; with bleach blonde hair and a toned body, she is also the head Cheerio here at McKinley High. Everyone wanted to be around her because anyone who was, was seen as popular, and that is what high school is. One giant popularity contest. And even though her and I have almost nothing in common, all anyone cares about is where you fall on the food chain.
As soon as I heard the bell for lunch, I jumped up and made my way to Kitty's locker. "Oh hey Marls! How is your first day going?"
"Fine, I hope you don't mind I told people that we are related."
She chuckled at my comment and took my hand. "Of course not! But I do have to eat with the Cheerios today so I won't be able to eat lunch with you but don't worry! I know some people that I think you will mesh with perfectly." Kitty drove me through a serpentine path of tables and crowds until we came up to one with four people already enjoying their lunches. "You guys, this is my cousin Marley. She just moved up here from Los Angeles, and she needs a place to eat lunch. Can she sit here?" They looked among themselves and nodded to her. She gave me a hug and left to go sit with the other cheerleaders.
"Have a seat. I am Blaine!" I carefully sat and smiled at him. The first thing about him that caught my attention was his hair. It was a very dark brown and looked as if it might be curly if he didn't plaster it down with hair gel. As soon as Blaine introduced himself to me, the others followed suit. A pretty Asian girl smiled at me, "I am Tina and this is Artie." She said motioning to a very dork-chic boy in a wheelchair. "And I am Unique. Yes, I am biologically male. And yes, I am in drag."
I could tell she was very used to having to defend who she is to people. "You don't have to explain yourself to me." I said with a shy smile. I could see a little bit of relief on her face, followed by a reciprocated grin. "So how do you guys know Kitty?"
Artie spoke up, "We are all in glee club together."
Glee club? I couldn't picture Kitty in glee to save my life. "Really?"
Blaine grinned, "Yes. It is so much fun. We meet after school every day in the choir room. Hey! You should come to today's meeting!"
"Oh, I don't about that. I don't really sing to anyone but my dog. And even that is only on special occasions."
Tina produced a very lighthearted laugh. "How about this? Why don't you just sit in today. You can sing if you want but you won't have to. Just see what we do." I nodded in agreement and we all finished our lunches with talks of good and bad teachers, the do's and do not's here, and other things I needed to know just to survive at McKinley. I took off a little before the bell rang so I could find my next class, even though I couldn't focus on anything they were teaching. I was actually really excited about glee after school.
As the last bell rang, I went to my locker to unload my books when I bumped into Unique. "Oh I am so sorry!"
"No worries Marley. Do you want to walk with me to Glee?"
"I would love to thank you! Wait, where do I sit?"
"You can sit with me. I normally sit next to no one else so you can have that seat. Sound good?" She held out her hand for a high five and I enthusiastically obliged.
A young handsome man walked into the room with a grin from ear to ear on his face. "Okay! Before we begin this weeks assignment, I see a new face. Hi! You are?"
I felt my face turn an unattractive shade of scarlet. "I'm Marley Rose."
Kitty spoke up, "That is my cousin. She just moved in with me." She looked back at me and gave me a wink.
"Well, Marley, I am Mr. Schuester. Welcome to glee. This week, we are going to be doing duets. But who you are partnered with will be via random selection. Marley? Can I add you into the mix?"
Immediately I got nervous but I nodded against my better judgment. "Partners are; Jake and Artie, Tina and Kitty, Sam and Marley, Ryder and Brittany, Unique and Blaine, Joe and Sugar. I want everyone to perform by the end of the week. I asked Emma to help me give you an example." The guidance counselor I had seen earlier walked into the room and gave a quick kiss on the cheek. The band began playing "Eternal Flame" to each other. Their eyes never broke contact and their feelings could be felt by everyone else in the room.
"That gave me goose bumps." Some kid with dreadlocks and sandals said behind me when the adults finished their performance.
I started to pick up all of my things to leave but I was stopped by a fit boy with blonde hair, he looked as if he could be the quarterback of the football team or something of the sort, I could tell he had prominent muscles even through his loose fitting tee. "Hi, I am Sam. I guess we are going to be duet partners." He put out a hand for me to shake but in trying to free up a hand, I managed to drop all of my things.
"I am sorry! I am so clumsy." I started putting everything back in my bag and I noticed Sam was picking up my books. "You don't have to do that!"
He shrugged, "I know. It kinda was my fault you dropped them in the first place. It is only right I help you pick the up. Do you need help carrying your stuff?"
"No. But thank you." I took my books from him and turned to leave the room.
"Hey, Marley, wait up!" Blaine came up to me, "How are you getting home?"
"Well, Kitty has Cheerio practice so am just going to walk to her house. It is right around the corner."
"Do you want a ride? I am driving Sam and he lives only a few houses down from Kitty."
I shook my head and told them I needed to figure out my way around anyway, and started out of the school.