Title::..Newcomer
Spoilers::..Duets
Rating::..G
Genre::..Humour
Characters::..ENSEMBLE: Emma Pillsbury, Will Schuester, Rachel Berry, Finn Hudson, Quinn Fabray, Artie Abrams, Brittany S. Pierce, Santana Lopez, Kurt Hummel, Mercedes Jones, Sam Evans, Tina Cohen-Chang and Mike Chang
Pairings::..all mild: Carma, Finchel, Fabrevans and Tike
Author's Note::..This is an idea I came up with before watching The Substitute episode, it's kind of my take on what would happen to the club if Will ever had to take a week off. Emma steps in and it's a whole lot of fun with lots of musical numbers for you to imagine in your mind. I've set it somewhere between Duets and The Rocky Horror Glee Show, so before Kurt starts getting harassed and before Puck returns from juvie.
I feel pretty bad for having Emma call Amy Winehouse 'Amy Trainwreck' in this because I am indeed an Amy fan, I have all of her albums and I absolutely adore her music so the comment does not come from a place of hatred. It comes from Emma and do you guys really think she would approve of Amy, coz I don't think she would.
In this fic I tried to address an issue I feel the show has come upon and that is GIMMICKS! I feel like too often they pick songs to sing simply because they're big on the charts at the time of filming, not because they're relevant to the characters or the storyline, just because they wanna cash in on that success, it annoys me to death. In this fic I tried to pick songs that actually suit the characters and can only hope song choice will approve in the upcoming fourth season.
Summary::..When Will falls ill Emma must step in to run the Glee club, in his absence she sets the students the assignment of Movie Music Week.
Emma almost removed her car from the hospital parking lot without ever getting out. Then her eyes fell upon the flower arrangement currently occupying her passenger seat and she proceeded to drop her hands from the steering wheel. It would be foolish to waste such a beautiful bouquet.
Will Schuester had called her yesterday and had asked her to visit him in the hospital. She hadn't been surprised to receive the call. She had been with him on Friday afternoon when he had experienced the excruciating pain of his appendix rupturing inside of him. She had been hoping he would contact her with an update of his condition.
But his request had been completely unexpected. She thought it was a little inappropriate of him to ask for her when there was nothing she could do in this situation. It would be different if he were her boyfriend, then it would make all the sense in the world for her to be beside his sickbed. As it happened they had not succeeded as a couple and now Carl Howell was her boyfriend. She insisted to Carl she was going to see Will as a friend, but still she couldn't help feeling she shouldn't be here.
A nurse pointed her in the right direction and she made her way toward the numbered door. She scolded herself for the last-second primping to proceed her entering the room.
Will's face lit up at the sight of her and he quickly shut off iSingin' in the Rain/i so as to place his full attention on her. She smiled weakly in return. She wanted to relax and be her normal self, but there was too much danger lying in that. Old habits threatened to repeat and so she forced her guard up.
"I brought these for you." She announced of the flowers.
His mouth fell open in admiration. "Wow, they're beautiful, thank you so much."
She placed the basket upon the bedside table. She couldn't help noticing the complete lack of 'get well' cards and there were no bouquets to accompany her own. How disheartening, surely there must be someone other than herself who would care to visit him.
He didn't seem to notice this. He acted like nothing was out of the ordinary, as if the conversation could be taking place in the casual setting of her office, instead of a hospital room. He assured her he was just fine, the surgery had been a success. It was a relief to see him smiling again after witnessing the pain which had led him here.
Luckily he had called her here with a purpose other than updating her on his condition. This stopped them from chatting too long and perhaps saying something they would regret later.
Instead he got to addressing his business rather quickly. "My doctor told me I need to take a week of sick leave, to give myself time to recuperate properly. I already talked to Figgins about it and he's got a sub' coming in to cover my Spanish class. We agreed that someone needs to cover for me in Glee as well, otherwise those kids will all kill each other…or they'll kill Rachel."
She laughed at this and he paused, looking at her expectantly. "That's very true." Her laughter came to an abrupt end when she realized she had been faced with this expression before. It was the look he gave her when he wanted to get her to agree to some plan of his. She fidgeted in her suddenly uncomfortable seat. "Is that why you asked me here?"
He nodded once before continuing in a calm voice. "I told Figgins I'd like you to take care of the kids in my absence. We both agreed you were the perfect-…"
She rose out of her seat, feeling irritation flare up within her like a fever. He was still trying to control her and keep her by his side. Even as he lay in his apartment, resting for the week, he would still be on her mind due to her proximity to Glee.
"You shouldn't have done that Will." She said.
"Why not, it makes sense. The kids know you and trust you, especially after you rode with them to Sectionals last year." He defended.
"I don't know anything about music." She reminded him.
"You know enough." He reassured her. "Besides, that's not what I'm worried about. You're the only one I trust with these kids because you know how special they are and you have had past experience in keeping all of their chaos under control." He grabbed her hand to squeeze it as he drove his point home and she allowed him to do it. "I know that you're the right person to do this."
As she looked into his eyes it felt like the old times. Before the betrayal of Shelby and April, back when she had been able to believe everything he said.
But that was in the past and she returned to the present by pulling her hand out of his grasp. She might have been able to say no to him (it might have taken a while and a lot of building herself up to the moment before she could achieve it) but she couldn't say no to those kids. He was right in his proclamation of her as the right person to do it because she cared about the kids. A lot of the other educators at McKinley didn't take the New Directions seriously; Will and the kids were something of a joke. She believed in them and maybe this would be enough to allow her to lead them for the upcoming week.
It was starting to seem like a reasonable idea. Although she wasn't sure of how she was going to explain her involvement to Carl.
"Do you have any ideas for an assignment I could put to them?" She asked.
"No, we've been working on the set-list for Sectionals, they'll probably just continue on with that." He explained. "You'll just be there to give a well-informed opinion when they ask for it and keep them from getting too distracted, keep them on the right track."
She nodded, her doe eyes wide as she began to process all of this. "Keep them on the right track, sure."
"You'll do fine." He informed her in a soothing voice. "Just give me a call if you run into any trouble, which you won't and drop by Wednesday afternoon to give me an update."
"Sure." She repeated, more uncertain than ever.
Not much later she left, retreating to her car. She couldn't drive off at once, she was mostly in shock. What had she just agreed to? She was a guidance counsellor, not a talent manager. It was a large group of kids, all with big personalities and a lot of opinions. Was she up to the task of handling them? It seemed an impossibly intimidating task as she placed her trembling hands upon the steering wheel.
It was the first period of Monday morning and so most of the students didn't walk quickly, going into another week of high school without much enthusiasm. They dragged their feet and once they did reach their class they gazed out the window, longing for any kind of distraction to rescue them from another week of their tedious lessons.
All students except for Rachel Berry. She was close to breaking into a run in her haste to reach the choir room, to kick off a new week with Glee. Finn almost had to jog to keep up with her swift steps. She couldn't wait to get to Glee, she was practically bursting with the ideas she had come up with over the weekend. She was even looking forward to seeing Mr Schuester. Sure, they'd concluded the previous week with a disagreement regarding his latest choreography and he had gotten very defensive in the face of her constructive criticism. But it was a new week and she felt certain he would be willing to hear her new suggestions. There was also her new headband she was excited to show off to her fellow Glee clubbers.
When she stepped into the choir room to find a petite redhead sitting at the piano alongside Kurt she was instantly alert. A further glance around the room showed her there was a very important person missing. The majority of the club were already assembled, except for Brittany who had probably gotten lost as usual. Everyone in place made the absence seem even greater.
"Where's Mr Schuester?" She asked of anyone who would listen.
"Yeah, I've got all these jokes about his sweater vests saved up and if he doesn't get here soon I'll have no choice but to use them on Artie." Santana said. Artie sent a fearful look her way as finally Brittany jogged into the room.
The redhead rose from her seat and turned to face them all with a slightly uncertain smile. Miss Pillsbury – what on Earth was she doing here when previously she had made it very clear she knew nothing about music. Rachel eyed the guidance counsellor suspiciously as she took her seat beside Finn.
"Now that you're all here I can tell you why I'm here, which I'm sure you're all wondering." Emma began. "Mr Schuester was in hospital over the weekend to have his ruptured appendix removed. I visited him yesterday and I can assure you there's no reason to worry, he's fine, he's perfect in fact. But his doctor has advised him to take the week to recover properly. In his absence he's asked me to step in and take care of you. I hope we can have a fun and productive week together."
No one said anything in response. There were some small noises of disappointment but other than this the stunned club kept quiet. Worried looks were exchanged and it was clear Rachel wasn't the only one to believe Emma didn't belong in their choir room. With Sectionals approaching so quickly they all held greater concern for how this distraction would ruin their progress than the health of their leader.
"Mr Schuester said you have been working on a set-list for Sectionals." Emma announced, breaking the tense silence. "Maybe you'd like to go on with that today."
This was met with more silence as they stared at her, all deeply unimpressed. They might have won the staring competition, if not for Finn. He got out of his seat and turned to face all of them. "You guys had so many ideas last time we were talkin' about this you barely shut up, now you've run out? Well Rachel and I talked about it over the weekend and we came up with a lot." He turned to his girlfriend. "Do you have the list?"
Grinning proudly she produced the pink piece of paper from her binder with a flourish. He went to the whiteboard and began to write out the song titles. She watched him with an enthusiastic smile, nodding whenever he glanced back over his shoulder for reassurance. She thought he was doing a brilliant job. He was a natural born leader.
Soon enough the club recovered from their shock and things were running as normal. Emma sat back, a silent observer as everyone shouted out their ideas and Finn rushed to write them all down. Artie had suggestions of songs he could rap and Mercedes wanted more R'n'B songs. Rachel shook her head silently, guiding a slightly overwhelmed Finn. This way only the songs she approved of made it onto the board without her having to touch the marker. The others were much too preoccupied by their task of shouting to be heard to notice any of her secret tactics.
Santana rose from her seat and marched to the front of the room. Despite being much taller Finn cowered in front of her. She took full advantage of this, stealing the marker and shoving him aside. With the marker she wrote a single word 'Valerie'. "We need to get some Amy Winehouse up in here. It sickens me to think of how long we've been neglecting her. If there were any food in my stomach I would literally throw it up."
"While I value your opinion Santana I think that song is much too low for me." Rachel said. "So Finn just go ahead and rub it off the board."
Santana slapped Finn's hand away from the eraser. "No, it stays up there. It might be too low for you, but it's perfect for me. That's why I shall be singing it."
"What do you propose I do while you're singing, sway in the background? That's a disgusting waste of my time." Rachel responded.
"You don't get to have every single solo." Santana snapped. "Back me up here Miss P, everyone should get their turn in the spotlight."
"That is a fair point." Emma agreed quietly. She cleared her throat, trying to summon more confidence. "But Santana, are you sure that's the song you want to sing?"
Santana stared incredulously at her. "What's wrong with it? It's the perfect song."
"Really? It's just that I have a little nickname for Amy Winehouse, it's Amy Trainwreck. Is that the kind of image you want to portray to the Sectionals judges?" Emma questioned, smiling sweetly.
Cursing in Spanish under her breath Santana returned to her seat. Brittany pat her on the back and showed her a reassuring smile. Meanwhile Rachel instructed Finn to erase Santana's song title. Emma got up from her seat and took the eraser from him. He returned to his seat, appearing relieved to be back in neutral territory. The group fell silent as she began to remove song titles one-by-one from the board.
"What are you doing?" Kurt asked.
"I think some of these need to vetoed, for your own good." She commented. "There are some good choices. But a lot of them aren't so good. I'm looking at them and none of them are surprising and I don't feel like they're inspiring."
Rachel stared at her open-mouthed. "Excuse me?"
"Hurts, doesn't it?" Santana commented.
"I think this week will be a great opportunity for you guys to burst out of the rut you might've gotten stuck in over the past year." Emma explained. "You need to throw out all of the '80's power ballads and get back in touch with yourselves."
Rachel closed her mouth, finally reaching a state where she was somewhat past her shock. She looked around at her fellow club members and saw they were all wearing mostly the same expression. They were unimpressed by Miss Pillsbury's suggestions. They were territorial of the status quo already established by Mr Schuester and this shake-up confused them.
Rachel realized at once what she had to do. They needed a leader to step out into this unknown terrain first and why shouldn't that leader be her? They needed someone to stand alongside Emma and give them the all-clear before they could take such a brave step. They had once allocated Rachel the role of being their Captain and this was something she took very seriously.
She got up from her seat and went to stand beside Emma. She smiled kindly, she was too smart to waste a whole week of rehearsal on warring with the guidance counsellor and hopefully the others would follow her example.
"Miss Pillsbury, I couldn't agree more." She said and Emma stared blankly at her, as if stunned by this sudden show of support. "In fact I have a song prepared especially for this moment."
Emma began to shake her head. "Actually Rachel, that's not really necessary-…"
Rachel refused to listen to her refusals. "Sit down and enjoy." She turned to the ever-assembled band, her eyebrows raised expectantly. "Shall we begin?"
After rehearsing all Friday night she had sent sheet music to each member of the band to ensure they would be ready for this moment. She faced the group and imaged them multiplied, a much larger audience all ready to adore her. The guitar kicked in and she felt ready to glow, a one-woman spotlight.
"There's a fire startin' in my heart, reachin' a fever pitch and it's bringin' me out the dark…"
The words rolled off her tongue, as naturally as if they had been written for her. 'Eat your heart out Adele', she couldn't help thinking as Finn nodded his head in time with the building beat. She allowed herself a moment to smile before being swallowed up by the melancholy of the song.
"But you played it, you played it. You played me to the beat- yeah."
She straightened up, struggling to regain her breath after the all-consuming song. She flashed the group her show-stopping smile as the hesitant applause began. Finn clapped the loudest while the others were reluctant to show their appreciation.
She didn't mind, she held enough enthusiasm to fill the whole auditorium with cheering in her mind. She instantly dove into explaining her plans for staging. "I'm thinking we could do a very stark stage, kind of like Adele has. Tina and Mike could come out and do a heartbreaking dance if they must. But really I don't want anything to distract the judges from me and my mind-blowing performance."
"Rachel…" Emma began hesitantly, approaching her.
"I have already located the perfect dress, it's very old-Hollywood and in typical Adele fashion it's black. If I order it-…"
"Rachel." Emma cut in, with more force this time. "I don't think that is the right song for the point I'm trying to make."
Insulted, Rachel at once jumped on the defence. She was slightly surprised, her performance had been flawless, how could Emma hold any complaints? Why wasn't she smiling with wet eyes, this was how all of her solos should be responded to, or else what was the point?
"How can you say that? Of course it's the right song; it's the song of the year." She explained, speaking slowly and clearly to avoid the risk of being misunderstood. "It's certain to secure Adele her third and maybe her fourth of fifth Grammy at next year's award ceremony. It's the perfect song."
"Exactly." Emma said. "And therein lays the problem. You guys don't need the song of the year, you don't need a gimmick like that, you're talented enough to pull off a performance without falling back on gimmicks."
Rachel could barely structure her sentences in her rage. "It's not a gimmick, it's-…"
"Rachel." Emma snapped, she turned her maddeningly calm expression on Rachel. "I think it's time you sat down, okay? Thank you."
Rachel opened her mouth to argue further, but all that came out was a small squeak, like a mouse. She turned to Finn for assistance but he only shrugged his shoulders in his hopeless way. She had no choice but to let Emma turn her into a tiny, pathetic mouse.
She shuffled back to her chair; she could feel a migraine coming on. This day would become legend, Emma had shut her up, she knew it would soon be a story exchanged in the halls in hushed voices.
"You need to move past the gimmicks and get back to singing songs that mean a lot to you." Emma said. "With that in mind I would like to put to you this week's assignment."
She strode to the whiteboard and fetched the marker. With confident and large strokes she printed four words.
"Music of the movies?" Quinn read out.
Emma grinned. "Aren't you having fun already? Each of you will pick a song from your favourite movie. I want you to get really personal, find a song you feel shows off who you are. Before the end of the week each of you will get a chance to perform your solo in front of the club." Murmurs of excitement began to rise from the group. "Movie soundtracks kids, dig it!"
Emma thought it had been a mistake to make an enemy out of Rachel Berry on her first outing as Glee director for the week. But the diva had gotten on her nerves. She was like a tricky spider popping in-and-out from beneath the couch. At first Emma didn't mind it, the spider wasn't bothering her, why not just leave it be? Eventually she would grow sick of the sight of it and in the end the bug spray was always brought out.
Rachel had kept pushing and Emma had made an earlier promise to herself to not be a push-over to these kids. She was already a push-over to Will by simply being here. But the kids weren't going to order her around as they pleased; she at least had more dignity than that. Rachel may not have liked it, but Emma wasn't going to stand for any of her temper tantrums.
Emma didn't think alienating Rachel was the dumbest move she could make with the kids. Rachel wasn't very well liked; she didn't have the influence like the popular kids to turn everyone against Emma. She didn't think Rachel would have the strength to maintain her grudge against Emma, especially when there was a solo performance being offered to her.
Upon arriving at the choir room on Tuesday Emma found she had absolutely nothing to worry about. She had barely entered the room when she was approached by two students claiming to have songs prepared already. Rachel appeared to be pouting, but other than this the club was on her side. Maybe this week wasn't going to be as difficult as she first thought.
"Today to kick off our Movie Music Week is Quinn." She announced when the club was seated and settled. "Take it away Quinn."
The cheerleader strode to the middle of the floor and stood behind the microphone stand set up for her. "This song is from my favourite movie and that is Dirty Dancing. I want to dedicate this song to my boyfriend Sam."
The Ken to her Barbie blushed deeply as the introduction to Hungry Eyes played. Emma wasn't sure she entirely approved of this shameless display of lust. Quinn purred her way through the lyrics, her sultry eyes never once leaving Sam's face. Emma almost felt she and the other Glee kids should leave the room, in order to allow the couple to enjoy a moment like this in private.
She was relieved when the song came to its close. The applause was louder than what Rachel had previously received. Quinn gave an elegant curtsey before going to kiss Sam, a lengthy display to further make Emma uncomfortable.
But she restricted herself from suggesting a reliable birth control and tried to concentrate on only the positives. "Thank you very much Quinn. That was a great way to start the week; the emotions were very realistic, well done." Quinn smiled proudly as she sat down with Sam's arm around her shoulders. Emma turned around in her seat to survey the faces of the others. "Who's next?"
She had been expecting Artie to move forward, but it was Rachel who took to the floor. "I would like to announce that I'm saving my performance for the end of the week I will not reveal my song choice as of yet, but I assure you it will be worth the wait, the perfect encore."
She grinned widely, awaiting praise. But no one reacted, they all stared blankly, as bored of her as ever. Her spectacular smile began to falter and not too much later she returned to her chair. She cast her eyes down awkwardly.
"Okay, Artie?" Emma prompted.
He collected his guitar, settling the instrument in his lap. "This is from possibly the best movie in the world and that is Life of Brian." With the class eagerly waiting he began to strum the guitar, singing with a smile on his face. "Always look on the bright side of life… Come on guys, don't be shy." Mike and Sam whistled merrily along with him, the others soon joining in.
Emma started clapping along, remaining otherwise silent while the rest of the club whistled. They bopped their heads as Artie led them through the satiric ditty.
Emma looked around and saw wide smiles on everyone's faces – even Rachel couldn't deny the pull of the infectious sing-along. She counted the week to be a complete success, which she counted very gratefully considering she had plucked the idea of the theme literally out of thin air mere moments before writing it on the whiteboard.
A powerful applause broke out the same second Artie finished singing. Emma joined in with them, thumping her hands together enthusiastically. Some of them got up to high-five a modest Artie.
This Glee thing was addictive. Emma was getting a rare glimpse into what Will got to experience every day. She was beginning to understand the cause of all of his passionate talk about the club.
With Rachel withholding her performance until the end of the week this freed up her time and allowed her to help Finn with his preparations. One of her favourite things about being his girlfriend (aside from the heated make-out sessions) was when he asked for her advice.
It was like being handed the keys to the car. He was giving her permission to be controlling. She already knew she was right about everything but him asking her for advice was him agreeing to this. It was as flattering as any of the compliments he paid her about her boobs.
She had helped him work on the song all of Tuesday afternoon and as soon as they entered the choir room on Wednesday she knew he was ready. She felt as confident as if she were about to take the stage. They had picked an amazing song for him and as long as he stuck to the choreography they had practised he would knock everyone's socks off.
"Miss Pillsbury, Finn will be performing today." Rachel informed her promptly.
Emma froze on her way across the room, her doe eyes meeting Rachel's in an unblinking stare. "Okay." She scurried to her seat as the rest of the club began to settle and fall silent. "Finn, whenever you're ready…"
Rachel gave his hand a reassuring squeeze before he got up. She knew he shouldn't be nervous; he was the other half of the power couple that kept Glee afloat. It was true he wasn't as experienced as her, but as a performer he was coming into his own. If he kept listening to her advice he would one day meet the standard she had set for the club.
He couldn't see his potential because of all of his insecurities. The only place he felt truly confident was on the football field. He didn't crave solos the way she did. She had done her best to coach him through this, so now all she could do was smile supportively and hope he kept breathing.
"I'm gonna be singing We Will Rock You from A Knight's Tale." Finn announced.
Mike's mouth dropped open. "What? I love that movie."
"Heath Ledger is so fine in that movie." Kurt said, earning him a sideways glance from Artie. "What, he is."
Stomp, stomp – clap. Stomp, stomp – clap. Rachel joined Finn at once, hoping the others would catch on. He smiled at her in his uncertain, but very charming way. She nodded her encouragement and he began to sing.
He sounded great to her ears and the rest of the club must have thought he was doing a pretty good job as well because soon they were all stomping along to the beat. Rachel chanced a look at Emma and was disappointed to find the guidance counsellor sat completely still in her chair. Even worse there was a look of concern on her face, as if Finn was doing something wrong. She looked less impressed by this than she had appeared during Quinn's inappropriate serenading of Sam.
Rachel was distracted by this when Sam leapt out of his chair and proceeded to thump the metal legs of the seat onto the ground. Mike and Brittany quickly joined this. This helped Finn's confidence and Rachel could tell he was enjoying himself, as even the usually mild-mannered Kurt joined in on the chanting.
He ended the song with a large grin on his face. Rachel jumped to her feet and bounced on the balls of her toes as she clapped wildly. His cheeks were flushed from the effort but he looked satisfied. She thought he should be very proud of himself, despite the half-hearted applause Emma gave him.
"Are you alright Finn?" She asked, her brow pinched in what appeared to be genuine worry.
"I'm a little puffed-out and sweaty, but other than that I feel fine." He replied.
"How much cheese is in your diet?" She inquired.
"I- what?"
"You look like you're suffering from horrible gas pains." She elaborated and the smile quickly vanished from his face as Rachel fixed a stink-eye upon her. "Maybe you should consult with your doctor about it."
Whatever confidence Finn might have gained during his performance was instantly shot down in flames. He couldn't even maintain eye-contact with the rest of the club as he shuffled back to his seat.
Santana laughed loudly, her mocking laughter ringing out in the otherwise silent room. "Can you repeat that Miss P? I wanna make it my new Facebook status." She already had her phone out, typing what she could recall.
Rachel put her arm around Finn's shoulders, her heart pained as she surveyed Finn's crest-fallen face. He stared at his feet, too embarrassed to look her in the face. Emma took to the middle of the floor and began speaking. Rachel looked at her with her most lethal death-stare. The sooner Mr Schuester got back the better.
Will was expecting to receive a visit from tense-Emma on Wednesday afternoon. He had arranged the meeting telling her he wanted to check in on the club. In truth, she was the only one he felt he needed to check in on.
This wasn't the first time he had left the kids alone and they always managed to pull through, perhaps stronger for this endurance. But Emma hadn't been alone with them for a full week before. He knew how overwhelming they could be, especially when they were all screaming at each other. She didn't have the same experience as him and he wasn't sure she would be able to handle them.
It had only been three days but he was prepared for her to beg him for an out. He was ready to see her ringing her hands and biting on her lip. He was already planning out the encouraging things he would say to spur her on for the rest of the week.
After restoring order to his apartment he brushed his teeth for the second time in a row to ensure everything was perfect. He responded to her knocking on the door, greeting her with a large smile. He was at once surprised by how relaxed she seemed. She wasn't as rigid as he had predicted she would be. She looked less uptight than he recalled.
She was her usual doting self, asking how he was and insisting he sit down when he offered to get her a drink. She concentrated on him and his condition. This may have led him to believe she was avoiding the topic of Glee, for whatever reason – Rachel may have been torturing her, or Santana, or Kurt had been criticizing her clothes. A case of all of the above would have been enough cause to send anyone running in the opposite direction.
But when he finally managed to bring the topic of the club up she started gushing. "Now I know why you love it so much, I'm having a lot of fun."
He couldn't hide how taken aback he was by this response. "You're having fun?"
"Oh my gosh, so much fun." She beamed.
He smiled, half-surprised and half-relieved. "Good, I'm really glad to hear it. I didn't want to tell you this when I asked you to take them on, but I was a little worried they'd steamroll you into the ground. Rachel especially, it's kind of hard to pull her back when she gets an idea into her head."
"Well she's certainly tried to get her own way but once I got the others excited about the assignment their enthusiasm over-shadowed her pouting and continues to do so, I'm happy to add." Emma replied.
"Assignment?" He repeated. "What assignment? I didn't leave them with an assignment."
"Oh, I hope you don't mind, I came up with my own assignment for them." She said. "Music of the movies. I've got them all to pick songs from their favourite movies." Her smile grew wider with pride. "They may just be over-excited because they're each getting a solo. But they seem to be really into it."
An assignment without any competition and no possible way to decide a winner? He couldn't imagine any of the kids getting fired up over this. They were possibly the most competitive group of people he had met in his whole life. They were unlikely to do a task if there wasn't a way for them to gain something at the end. He didn't think they would spend their time on some prize-less assignment.
But he had to be supportive of Emma. She was already out of her depth. He should humour her so she could at least believe she was doing fine. If she panicked she was likely to back out.
He put on a smile and attempted to act as if he fully believed what she was saying. "That sounds great. They're really enjoying themselves, huh?"
"Oh yeah." She enthused. "Finn got up and sang today and everyone joined in. Artie sang a really great song yesterday and Quinn…" She hesitated, unsure of how to proceed at first. "She is so beautiful."
He was beginning to believe her. Finn was a big-hitter in the club. If he was participating they may be taking her seriously. "What about Rachel? I'm surprised you didn't mention her in that line-up. When you said they were getting a solo I expected she'd be the first one raising her hand."
"Rachel has already announced she'll be reserving her performance for the end of the week." She replied.
"That sounds great." He replied while inside his mind was racing and not toward any pleasant scenarios. He had expected Emma to keep the club warm for him, not thinking she would contribute much of her own thoughts. But now she was setting assignments and the kids were going for it.
He couldn't help worrying. One thing might lead to another and his leadership with the club would be in jeopardy. The sooner he got back to McKinley the better.
Emma was giddy upon her arrival in the choir room on Thursday. She was looking forward to seeing what the club had come up with for the new day of performances. She felt herself hooked to Glee and, just like with her favourite television programs, she couldn't wait to see what happened next.
She had gone out to dinner with Carl the previous night and it was all she had been able to talk about. Even after spending the afternoon with Will discussing the kids she still couldn't stop herself from rambling. She couldn't recall the last time she had felt this excited to arrive at school (even a new package full of pamphlets couldn't make her feel so jubilant) and luckily Carl appreciated this enthusiasm, as opposed to ask her to change the subject.
Aside from Rachel the club returned her smile. Finn still appeared a little unsure of her after her comment, but her guilt quickly faded upon surveying the bright eyes of the others. She was practically over-joyed by how pleased they seemed to be with the job she was doing. She was literally taking stabs in the dark with her teaching methods in here, but they all seemed to be benefitting from it and she couldn't be happier.
She didn't have to ask for silence. They began to quieten down as an instant reaction to her entering the room. By the time she pulled up one of the plastic chairs alongside the steps they were assembled on, they were watching her wordlessly. She had never thought of herself to be the kind of presence that demanded respect before.
"Who's performing today?" She asked, she thought she could have whispered and still be heard in the void of their usual noises.
Kurt raised his arm gracefully. "Miss Pillsbury, if I may?"
"You may." She replied.
The very fashionable boy today wore a piece of amber-coloured material wrapped around his hair. Emma didn't get the statement he was attempting to make with this unique head-wear. But then again she didn't understand a lot of the clothing Kurt chose to wear – she had been especially shocked to see him wearing a legitimate skirt only a few weeks ago. As long as he wasn't barfing on her shoes she was grateful and happy to leave him be in his bright clothes.
Some of the students began to stir as he picked up a guitar. Clearly this wasn't going to be one of his high-energy theatrical performances, such as Le Jazz Hot, which Will had spent an entire lunch hour trying to explain the spectacle to her. She couldn't deny she felt slightly disappointed in that moment.
But then the next moment was shepherded in by Kurt's singing and any let-down feelings quickly flew away. Emma's heart leapt into her throat at instant recognition of the song as Moon River. She couldn't help it, her hand moved to between her breasts in the move of a clichéd movie heroine.
The wrap finally made sense to her – he was recreating Audrey Hepburn's scene from the fire escape. Emma could have cried from how beautiful the display was. His angelic voice matched the song perfectly. He didn't over-perform, simply strummed the guitar and allowed the lyrics to speak for themselves.
Emma was the first to start clapping following the conclusion of the song. Her impassioned response wasn't shared by the whole club. They may not have understood the reference as they applauded uncertainly. Kurt bowed his head, soaking this in for a few seconds before calmly returning to his seat.
At first Emma couldn't form a response. She gaped at him, her mouth dangling open as she stared at him, unable to fathom what she had just witnessed. "Oh my goodness, Kurt. That was magnificent." She was forced to wipe beneath her eyes, a couple of tears breaking free. "I'm actually crying, that was one of the best performances I've ever seen in my life."
"You're too kind." He replied modestly.
"So Breakfast at Tiffany's is your favourite movie?" She assumed.
He chewed at the inside of his cheek as he thought this over. "Yes, but I was about a hair's fraction away from picking one of the songs from My Fair Lady, but-…"
She knew he had more to say but her gasp of excitement couldn't be contained. "I love that movie! Audrey's amazing in it."
"As she is in Breakfast at Tiffany's, therein lays my dilemma." He said.
"It's really hard to compare her movies against one another; she's exquisite in all of them." She agreed.
"In the end I went with Moon River because My Fair Lady began as a musical, you can't really classify the songs in it as a movie soundtrack." He explained. "But Moon River was written for that movie, it seemed to fit the assignment better. I'm sure there will be more opportunities for me to sing My Fair Lady in the future."
"Well you should be very proud of yourself Kurt, that was a beautiful performance." She assured him. "I wasn't acting, you moved me to tears."
"I was moved to tears as well." Santana spoke up from the back row.
Emma looked over to her, smiling fondly. "Really Santana?"
"Really." She replied, her eyes cold as she looked back at Emma. "Tears of boredom."
The smile quickly slipped off of Emma's face. "That's not quite the same thing."
"Can we move this along?" Santana requested. "Brittany has a kick-ass solo prepared."
Emma prepared herself for an intense shift in culture. She doubted with every pore in her body that Brittany would be singing a heartfelt ballad in the same vein of Moon River. But she had to give everyone a chance to shine, even if she was worried of the way in which Brittany would shine. "Alright, Brittany take it away."
Santana and Quinn had risen from their seats while Brittany stayed still, staring blankly at Emma. "Take what away?"
Santana tugged on her arm, smiling good-naturedly. "It's your turn."
Brittany stood between the other two cheerleaders. With a nod the band began playing and the three girls sprang into action. Quinn and Santana moved around Brittany, in perfect unison with one another.
Emma began to feel a little uncomfortable watching the routine. Far more uncomfortable than she had felt during Quinn's performance. It was difficult to know where to look as the girls gyrated about. It was confronting to watch the suggestive dance moves and unlike when a Pussycat Doll music video popped up on the television she couldn't change the channel, instead she was forced to endure.
She clapped half-heartedly as they took their bows proudly. The applause Brittany received was much more energetic than what Kurt had been rewarded with. Artie was clapping the loudest, making quite a fool of himself with boisterous cheering.
Brittany gave a curtsey, smiling gratefully. "Okay, so that was a song from Confessions of a Shopaholic and the song was called…" She trailed off uncertainly.
"Fashion." Santana supplied. Emma couldn't suppress an eye-roll; the repetition of that word in the song would have allowed her to provide Brittany with the title.
Brittany's smile reilluminated. "Right, Fashion. Did you like it Miss P?"
Emma pursed her lips, reminding herself to not say anything uncomplimentary. After how upset her comments had made Finn she would have to watch what she said. "Well it was very enthusiastic, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, but did you like it?" Santana prompted.
"There was a lot of-uh…a lot of gyrating. I'm not sure the moves were exactly appropriate." Emma said.
Brittany furrowed her brow and Emma wasn't sure the blond understood what the meaning behind her statement was at first. "But I choreographed it myself."
"Yes, that's what I was worried about." Emma commented under her breath.
Friday arrived, the final day of Will's sick leave and after this Emma would return to her office, away from the club. She thought she might be relieved to return to the safe confines of her office.
Glee was a lot of fun. But there was a fair amount of pressure included in the running of the club. She didn't have any experience with music beyond listening to the radio and trying to make decisions for the show choir could lead to disaster. The responsibilities to come with this power were unsettling.
Emma was prepared to return to the job she had been trained for. But before then the week was to conclude with a bang and that bang would be Rachel's long-awaited solo. The group shuffled from the choir room into the auditorium. The stage was set and lit, ready for Rachel to set it on fire. Emma took her seat among the others in the audience, prepared for another of Rachel's trademark show-stopping performances.
Kurt stepped out of the curtains onto the stage first, followed by Mercedes and Mike. They were dressed as if they were about to go Trick or Treating. They were all dressed in black, with white faces and dark circles drawn around their eyes. Silently they fell into a line in the middle of the stage. They remained expressionless as fog began to creep across the stage.
Tina walked on, seeming to float due to her feet being concealed by the building smoke. Her hair had been turned into a frightful black cloud of tangles, with a stuffed crow peering out from amongst the knots. Her face had been painted to resemble a skull, making her the most terrifying of the whole group. She stood in front of the trio, facing the audience with her eyes shut.
Theatrical music kicked in and the kooky dancing began. The group moved with expressionless faces, waving their arms in big, sweeping motions. They stomped about, their hands formed in to menacing claws.
"This is Halloween, everybody make a scene!" Tina sang, her voice filled with unrestrained passion. Her face was painted to make her appear un-dead, which was ironic considering how enthusiastic and lively the performance had made her.
The performance was perfect, everything practised to the point of all flaws being erased. Every member was given their chance to shine. There was a break allowed for Mike to have a dance solo, moving in a twitchy and disjointed manner to match the scary theme. Kurt and Mercedes struck extravagant poses in time with the music, before going back to the dance steps Mike had undoubtedly choreographed.
As the last beat rang out the lights flashed to simulate a bolt of lightning. The group struck their last extreme pose before the lights went out, casting the whole auditorium into complete darkness. The applause began at once as Emma and the others continued to stare up at the stage with unseeing eyes.
When their sight was returned the group on stage gathered together, slipping out of their zombie characters to bow. Tina was grinning as Mike pecked her proudly on the cheek. Kurt did a series of curtseys alongside a beaming Mercedes.
"That was This is Halloween, from my favourite movie of all-time, Tim Burton's The Nightmare before Christmas." Tina stated once the clapping had calmed down enough for her to be heard. "Did you guys like it?"
Brittany was the first to speak. "No."
"Why not?" Tina inquired.
"Get ready for something stupid." Mercedes muttered from the corner of her mouth.
"It was scary. I'm gonna have to sleep with the lights on." Brittany elaborated.
"But that's the point." Tina stated.
Brittany still wasn't impressed. "You shouldn't point at people, it's really rude."
Tina's brow fell into a confused knot through her makeup as she stared at the blonde cheerleader incredulously. It was as if she couldn't fathom what Brittany had just said. Emma had to admit she wasn't sure she understood the statement either. She knew she had to intervene before Brittany's naivety could be allowed to frustrate Tina any further, or become the target of louder teasing.
Emma rose from her seat. "I loved it Tina. It was spectacular, you should all be very proud of yourselves for putting on such a fantastical show. Bravo!"
"Thanks Miss Pillsbury." Tina replied, the bright smile returned to her face. "And before we leave the stage I wanna thank you for your guidance this week. You gave us a great assignment and I'm really grateful for this chance to do such an eccentric number."
Emma hadn't been aware of giving Tina (or any of the others) much guidance. She was doing a better job than she thought. She could hardly take credit for their own self-discovery. She smiled modestly. "I'm glad you've had such a fun week."
"I wouldn't mind if Mr Schuester never came back." Tina blurted out.
A tense silence gripped the room as everyone held their breath in response to this surprising statement. Emma watched clearly as the realization dawned upon Tina's face. The smile vanished, her face crumpled into confusion as if she was just hearing what she had said. Horror-stricken she gasped, her eyes increasing in size. She slapped her hand over her mouth as everyone stared at her, equally shocked.
With the stage offering her no salvation she fled. Her dramatic black tail-coat billowing out behind her as she disappeared into the curtains. Emma's heart sank as the sounds of Tina's sobs reached her. Kurt and Mercedes shared a clueless shrug while Mike rushed off to console his girlfriend.
Mere minutes later Rachel was taking to the stage, apparently unaffected – Emma didn't know why she was surprised by this. Tina was seated in the front row, her shoulders trembling as Mike continued to try to console her. Kurt and Mercedes had taken seats a couple of rows in front of Emma.
With the fog quickly disappearing from the stage floor Rachel walked to the middle of the stage, standing behind the microphone stand awaiting her. "I have chosen a song from the biggest movie in the world. Unlike Tina I haven't put together a big production, because this song, and my performance, can stand on its own."
Emma felt a powerful eye-roll coming on. Why couldn't Rachel simply sing the song without an introduction that served to insult a fellow club member? While Emma couldn't predict the song the introduction led her to think Rachel hadn't learnt anything from her speech at the commencement of their week together about ditching gimmicks. Singing a song from the soundtrack of a hugely-successful movie sounded like a gimmick to her.
Rachel closed her eyes, singing softly and pouting her heavily-glossed lips around each syllable. "Every night in my dreams I see you, I feel you…"
Emma rolled her eyes fully, bouncing her feet already tired of this song. My Heart Will Go On was one of her favourite songs from the impossibly amazing Titanic. But she was no fan of this rendition. She was determined to dislike the performance. She felt this display was as unsurprising and uninspired as when Rachel had embarrassed herself with that rigid performance of Rolling in the Deep. Emma felt disappointed in the diva; Rachel wasn't trying to push herself at all.
As the song went on Emma couldn't help feeling herself won over little-by-little. Rachel's talent was undeniable and it would be difficult to not appreciate the way her voice continued to build. It was true she hadn't taken a risk by picking a song she had clearly been singing for most of her life. But her confidence worked in her favour. Her determination to deliver the best performance possible was enchanting.
There was something more accessible about Rachel singing a song about undying love as an adoring Finn watched from the front row. As opposed to her singing a song from the perspective of a jilted lover when everyone knew she and him were enjoying a harmonious relationship.
What felt like twelve minutes later the song reached its end. Emma started clapping at once. The others joined in quickly, with every person currently in the auditorium applauding. It wasn't as enthusiastic as what Tina and her un-dead trio had received, but it was a definite improvement from Monday.
"Well done Rachel, I hope you feel very proud of that." Emma said, making her way to the stage. "That was much better than Monday, you were very believable today. Congratulations."
Once on the stage she turned to face the rest of the club. This was the last pearl of wisdom she could offer them for this week; she needed to make it worth their while – no pressure.
"Congratulations to all of you for your performances. They were all really amazing and I feel very lucky to have witnessed them." She told them. "I hope that in addition to enjoying the assignment that it has also helped you to discover a part of yourselves you may have lost along the way." She looked from Tina's teary eyes to Santana's bored expression. "I'm sure Mr Schuester will be very excited to see all of you when he gets back on Monday."
Before she could think of anything else to say the bell sounded, causing them to scatter almost at once. Quinn and Sam walked out with their hands linked. Artie rolled alongside a chipper Brittany. Kurt was discussing the application of his makeup with Finn. Emma watched them go with a bittersweet feeling swelling in her heart. Her whirlwind week as advisor of the Glee club was officially over.
Rachel remained alongside Emma on the stage and now moved closer. She wrapped her arms around Emma, catching her completely off-guard. What was she doing? Was this her way of lying to rest all of the ill-feelings between them during the week, if so Emma held no intentions of taking back any of the comments she had made.
Finally Emma put her arms loosely around Rachel's shoulders. She decided not to over-analyse the gesture. It was the perfect way to conclude the week.
Will was walking a little faster than usual on his way to the choir room on the Monday of his return to school. He was anxious to see the Glee kids. Maybe nervous. Maybe excited. Either way the kids in the hallway were a blur.
He almost collided with Rachel in his frantic rush. He took a step back and drew in a deep breath to help calm himself down as the diva adjusted her bangs. "Sorry Rachel, I didn't see you there."
"It's okay Mr Schuester, I'm just glad to see you're finally back." She informed him with one of her prompt nods.
"You really missed me that much?" He said, smiling as he was filled with the normal warmth he had come to expect from interactions with the club. "That's a wonderful compliment."
"Or a colossal insult to Miss Pillsbury." She muttered as she walked into the room before him.
Finn was much more chipper, clapping Will on the back. "Good to see you Mr Schue."
Will was relieved to walk into the choir room, he felt more at home here than he had in his empty apartment. He was grateful to see every single one of their faces. He had missed them more than he cared to say.
He was also glad to be back. He had hated being in the dark, away from the kids. It was almost as unsettling as if knowing his spouse had cheated on him. The idea of someone else in his spot, making decisions in his place. He knew he had a connection with the club, but he also knew how fickle teenagers could be. Thinking about Emma taking care of them and bonding with them was enough to keep him awake at night.
He was ready to get back to work and reaffirm to them why he was the only person who could lead them. He had spent the week coming up with the perfect assignment to get them back on track.
Unfortunately, aside from Finn, he wasn't greeted by the smiling faces he had been waiting to see. Alarmingly Tina burst into tears upon seeing him. Mercedes sighed audibly. Santana's lack of enthusiasm was no great surprise, but even Quinn looked unimpressed to see him. Artie couldn't manage a smile.
"Uhm…hello?" He said unsurely. "What's wrong with you guys? It's not like I expected you to roll out the red carpet for me, but I thought you'd be kind of happy to see me."
"I'm so sorry Mr Schuester." Tina sobbed.
He furrowed his brow, thoroughly confused by this display. "It's okay Tina, whatever you did I'm sure you didn't mean it, I forgive you."
Kurt was the first to offer any kind of explanation. "It's not that we're not happy to see you Mr Schue, it's just that we weren't expecting you back so soon. We thought we'd get at least another two days with Miss Pillsbury. In fact, Mercedes and I were counting on it; we spent the weekend preparing a number to show her our appreciation."
"Yeah I was kind of hoping your other kidney would burst so we could get another week with Miss P. I was enjoying the time away from your assault of sweater-vests." Santana contributed, causing Quinn to snicker.
Things were much worse than he had expected.
Emma had a lot of paperwork to catch up on after her week of acting as a part of the Glee club. The actual interaction with the kids had only taken up an hour of her day, but they had served as a distraction for the remainder of the school day. Now she had a mountain of work to attend to.
She had thought this paperwork would serve as a blessing in disguise, the perfect way to transition into her job. She figured it would be able to keep her from spending her time thinking about the club.
But it wasn't working as well as she had thought. She kept looking up at the clock, unable to stop herself from monitoring the time. She couldn't help thinking about how she had been standing in that choir room at exactly this minute last week.
Were they thinking about her, the same way she was reflecting on her time with them? Were they discussing with Will all the things they had learnt from her? She commanded herself to get real, of course they weren't. Will was getting them back on track toward Sectionals. All too soon they would have returned entirely back to normal, forgetting of the week they had spent under her guidance.
She shifted the papers on her desk, trying to refocus her attention. But only a second later someone was knocking on the door to her office. As if knowing they had been on her mind Kurt and Mercedes entered. She couldn't help thinking they were up to something as they shared identical mischievous smiles and Kurt held his hands behind his back.
"Shouldn't you two be in Glee?" She inquired, feeling as if she were pointing out the obvious.
Mercedes shrugged. "It's cool; Mr Schue knows we're here."
"We came because we wanted to show you our appreciation for this previous week." Kurt informed Emma.
As she stared quizzically at them Kurt brought a small stereo to rest on her desk. He pressed the play button and grinned at Mercedes as music began to fill the room. Emma's heart fluttered in instant recognition of the tune.
"I've grown accustomed to her face." Kurt began. "She almost makes the day begin. I've grown accustomed to the tune that she whistles night and noon."
"Her smiles, her frowns, her ups, her downs are second nature to me now, like breathing out and breathing in." Mercedes joined in, smiling sweetly.
"I've grown accustomed to her look." The pair harmonized perfectly. "Accustomed to her voice, her face."
They were taking some artistic liberty with the arrangement, but nevertheless Emma was impressed. Kurt had discussed My Fair Lady with her last week and now he had arranged to sing one of the songs from the soundtrack to her. She was touched.
As the song progressed the rest of the Glee club entered her office. They wandered in, as casually as if they had been passing by and upon hearing the song had spontaneously decided to join in. They gathered around her desk, crowding into the limited space available.
She began clapping the instant the song reached its conclusion. But that wasn't the last surprise the club had planned for her. They shuffled aside to make room for Artie, rolled in by Quinn. Resting upon his lap was a large and colourful flower arrangement. He placed it upon the desk and stunned she reached out to caress the ribbon tied around the vase, naturally it was decorated with gold stars.
"Brittany, where'd you put the card?" Santana asked.
"Huh?" Brittany responded before pondering the question for a second. "Oh, I put it down the back of my top so Miss P wouldn't accidentally find it."
While Santana worked to rescue the card Emma noticed Will for the first time. He was standing outside the office, leaning against the door jamb, out of the way. He was looking over the interaction of his students with a proud, father-like twinkle in his eye. When Emma caught his eye he grinned, which she returned a little tentatively, feeling glad for the children putting such a large distance between them.
Finally the card was retrieved and handed to Emma. It was large, green and unevenly cut with crayon writing on the front – 'thank you'. She flipped it open and two rectangular pieces of cardboard floated out onto her desk. The club watched with baited breath as she fetched them up for closer inspection.
"What's this?"
"It's two tickets for the front-row of our Invitational performance." Rachel informed her.
"It's in a couple of weeks and we'd really love it if you could be there." Artie added.
"This is all so sweet." Emma said, holding the poorly-made card to her chest.
"We owe it to you Miss P." Mercedes said. "If you hadn't stepped in Rachel would probably be dead."
"Probably?" Santana repeated, her eyebrows raised sceptically. This caused a few scattered chuckles.
Will cleared his throat and most of the students heads whipped around to face his direction. "We should get back to the choir room, to rehearse and put on a good show for Miss Pillsbury at the Invitational."
Without much gusto the group shuffled out of the office. Kurt recollected the portable stereo and put his arm around Mercedes' shoulders as they left. Tina was still dabbing at the wetness beneath her eyes.
Will walked behind them, keeping all of them in line. Their rightful shepherd taking them back to their home. Emma proudly admired the bouquet, all of the bright colours coming together in a beautiful display. It hardly fit in with the colour scheme she had in her office, but she liked it all the same.
The End.