"Where's Rachel?"

The New Directions looked around. There wasn't any sign of Rachel Berry.

"I only noticed because several minutes have passed without her saying any form of theatrical criticism…" Puck muttered.

"Is that even in your vocabulary?" Santana questioned, scowling. Puck silenced her with a look. Before they could continue, Mercedes spoke up.

"I'm not sure if she'll be here. Rachel got some kind of hard news yesterday." She said, biting her lip. Mr Schuester looked up from his sheet music.

"Oh really? What?" He asked with a slightly concerned look on his face.

"You know Shelby Corcoran? The coach of Vocal Adrenaline?"

Mr Schue scowled, thinking of previous experiences with Shelby, which basically ended up in them making out.

"She's Rachel's mom."

An air of disbelief hung still around them, most of them dropping their mouths.

"We're screwed. Rachel's gonna jump ship over to Vocal Adrenaline." Puck said, throwing his hands in the air. Mr Schue had his signature 'oh, shit' look on his face, replacing the concerned look.

Rachel walked in with a powerful scowl on her face.

"Please, don't talk about it here." She said, looking extremely dejected and depressed.

"Rachel, we know we're here for you. If there's anything you want to talk to us about, please do." Mr Schue said sympathetically. Rachel shot an accusing glare at Santana and Quinn, knowing they'd be the only ones that didn't understand, and would make fun of it all. She looked the class over again.

"I'm fine." She muttered.

Mr Schue clapped once, and addressed the class again. "Right…Let's start on our theatricality projects, shall we?" The class cheered once again.
Rachel just sat there, a thoughtful expression on her face.

So, I've been thinking seriously carefully about my future in the musical and theatrical arts. Would I succeed in the New Directions? Or…would mom help me branch out to more, adventurous styles of the arts? I can't believe I've even considered this. But, would Vocal Adrenaline give me more opportunities to shine? Oh god, they'd hate me forever if I transferred to Carmel. But it's my life, not theirs.
Don't get me wrong! I love WMHS and the glee club. But imagine if I joined Vocal Adrenaline! They'd be even more unstoppable than they already are.
Shelby- I mean mom… could help me down the road to Broadway…

Oh my gosh, I just settled that for myself. I'm gonna transfer to Carmel High.

"Rachel? RACHEL?"

"Huh? Oh, hi."

"Hi. Would you like to go first?"

"No. I'm fine."

The class gasped. Rachel? Refusing a solo? What the hell was happening? Maybe she was taking the news harder than first thought.

"Oh, okay? Well, Mercedes, Tina, Santana? Want to take it away?" They cheered and stood in front of the class.
Rachel was too lost in her thoughts to even acknowledge the quality of the performance. It was like it was an entirely different Rachel Berry.
She felt like simply running out of the choir room, running straight to Carmel and running up and giving Shelby a giant hug.
But of course she had to sit through the imperfect performances before she could even leave the room.

The clapping broke through Rachel's reverie.

"That was amazing girls! Totally fantastic! Could possibly be a contender for our Regionals set list!" Mr Schue winked.
Rachel clapped absentmindedly a couple of times.

"Rachel? Would you like to go now?"

"No. I haven't finished practicing…I have to go." She stood up quickly, flattened the pleats on her corduroy skirt and stepped out of the room.

She didn't really want to admit it; but she kind of needed Jesse right now. A part of her knew that most of the love was never real, but she loved him through and through.

Should I go to Carmel? They'll still be practicing for Regionals until midnight. I should go right up to Shelby, and ask for a transfer. Then I could truly be with Jesse. And we could win Regionals without even trying. It's shameful, I know, but I really was scared about our chances at Regionals. We only just snuck past at Sectionals. Mr Schue always thinks about being 'inspiring and different' is gonna get us first place. But sometimes you need to be good! Just like Vocal Adrenaline. Their routines are perfect. It's so breath-taking, how their lifts are so intricate and amazing.
Is it right to have always secretly longed to be up there with them?
So much that I couldn't even admit it to myself.

Rachel roughly twisted the keys, and her car grunted to life. She drove fervently down the road to Carmel High. If she went to Carmel, she'd finally get respect from her other school mates, instead of slushies thrown at her as she walked confidently down the hall.

And as for her talent, it'd be recognized even more so. And the show choir director wouldn't constantly be trying to destroy her career by giving her well-earned solos to other less talented singers.
The very thoughts angered her.

She arrived at Carmel High. The buildings towered over her, and they looked much more neat and respectable than McKinley. Rachel guided herself on memory to the Auditorium. Countless times of sneaking in to watch practices with Quinn and Mercedes, going to visit Shelby, one got to know the school.

She pushed the heavy doors open, and caught a sight of 26 performers strutting around their partners, in shimmering blue outfits. They were singing Judas by Lady Gaga, perfect for their radiant theatricality. Shelby paced in front of the stage, clicking her fingers and yelling various tips at them.
Rachel sighed and tilted her head. She forced her legs to move down the ramp to the first row of seats, where she quietly sat until they were finished.

"Guys, that was average. We won't take regionals like that. You're forgetting to look happy while you're performing."

Are you insane, Shelby? They were utterly perfect. If they performed half as good like that against us they'd win. Looking happy? They probably aren't. They're worked so hard to get this amazing. Wait; do I seem like this to the New Directions?

"Take five. We'll work on it later." She said, giving them a dismissing wave. They muttered lowly and walked off stage.

Rachel slowly eased off the seat and walked over to Shelby.

"Mom?"

"Rachel, honey, you can't keep sneaking into these rehearsals."

"I-I'm not," she stuttered. "I need to ask you something. I'd…like a transfer to Carmel High so I can join Vocal Adrenaline."

Shelby's doe eyes widened suddenly. "You're not just doing this because of me are you?"

Rachel opened her mouth, and her eyes nervously flickered. "No…well, yes. Um, kind of. I want to join Vocal Adrenaline for both Jesse and you…and I'd like a better chance at regionals."
Shelby visibly held back a laugh.
Rachel expected her to sympathetically put her head to the side, and tell her something that'd bring her wishes back down to earth and set her straight. That New Directions is the place she belonged.

"I'd like that very much, Rachel."