Were all standing on the stage, my mom just called hold. Again. I swear we haven't gotten through a full run of a song all week, she stops us literally even ten seconds. Its either someone is off spaced or was not getting the harmonies or the choreography right. It's a Monday night, 6:30; we only have half an hour left before we get to go home. I hate Vocal Adrenaline rehearsals more than anything in the world, to me its just 5 more hours I have to spend being around my mother, it doesn't help either that I have to go to Carmel high now. Before high school, I went to Morsbrow elementary and middle in Kent, 20 minuets from Akron. We live in Akron heights, in the suburbs and we live close enough to the boarder that my mom sent me to Morsbrow a private school in Kent instead of public school in Akron. I loved Morsbrow, Kent it is so different from Akron, the people there are diverse and accepting, everyone had really cool parents and I was always exposed to new cultures. Akron is quite conservative, everyone is rich and they like to keep it that way.

Since I can remember, my mom has always worked full time. I always say my nanny, Gia practically raised me since kindergarten. My mom would go off to work around 6 in the morning and Gia would come over and help me get ready for school, she would make my lunch and take me to school. After school she would take me to dance class, or swim practice, she would take me on walks in the park or take my friends and I to the beach on the weekends. Once in first grade, I started calling Gia mama since I practically never saw my real mother, Gia told my mom and I don't think I have ever seen my mother so upset in my life. I don't know if it started at that particular moment, but my mother threw herself into her work, the rare occasions that I saw her started to disappear, she spent more and more time coaching Vocal Adrenaline, and leading them to national championships, while I spend more and more time with my friends parents and Gia, people who I felt actually cared for me. I spent years learning to live with out my mother in my life as a constant. I got use to not having my mom around; we hardly speak with each other. I have grown accustom her coldness, learning many years ago that if I ran crying to her, she would do no more than to scold me and tell my to shake it off. Her affection was something that I yearned so much for as a child but never got. As I grew older I realized I would never be able to get that from her and I just gave up trying. It's interesting when I look at my mother and I realize that I know almost nothing about her. I know that her name is Shelby Corcoran, she is 36 years old and that she had me when she was 22. I don't knew where she grew up, I don't know if she has any siblings, she has never once spoken about my grandparents although I assume that I have them. Everything about her past is a secret, and I don't think she plans on sharing anything with my anytime soon. Its funny, sometimes I think that she forgets she has a daughter, I mean, I don't even look like her, I'm tall, 5'8'' with blond hair and blue eyes, she on the other hand has long wavy dark hazelnut hair with piercing green eyes. Most people just think that I am her student, it also doesn't help that she never tells anyone that she has a daughter, in fact most of the students and the faculty at Carmel were taken by surprise when I showed up on the first day of school, even the principle didn't know she had a kid.

We all stand around the stage, waiting for her to fix some of the blocking with our other team members. I think that everyone is still getting use to the fact that Ol' Corcoran has a daughter. All of the returning members were in shock when I came to audition for Vocal Adrenaline. I had begged my mother to let me stay at Morsbrow through high school, but everyone knows that Shelby Corcoran always gets her way; no matter how many fits I threw. Carmel isn't actually that bad, I was worried that I might get bullied because my mom is a teacher but it turns out that people are a whole lot more scared of her than I thought. I always heard the rumors about my mother being a slave driver and that she was colder than any ice queen, but never did I imagine what her reign over Carmel was like, she has this school under her thumb, every student and every teacher is scared shitless of her, even the principle will give her whatever she wants. Its nice for me because nobody messes around with me because they are all too scared of her. I stand alone in the far corner of the stage taking sips from my water bottle. Andrea, Mark and Simone, all sophomores come walking over,

"I swear coach never lets us catch a break," Andrea huffs, "We are literally going to be doing the same routine for the next month."

"Sky, look, I'm sorry but your mom is batshit crazy. If she could keep us here until 1 in the morning, she would." Mark said shaking his head at the thought.

"Yeah, well you should all feel sorry for me, I'm the one who has to live with her." I reply setting my water bottle down. Lately, home life has been terrible between her and I, now that I am in VA she spends every spare second that she is not consumed in her work criticizing my performances and it annoys the hell out of me. I never really sang much until middle school when I started to do school musicals and Community Theater, but I always danced. I've danced since I was little I would spend hours each day after school at the studio and most weekends I spent attending seminars or at ballet competitions, that all had to stop of course when I joined VA. I didn't want to audition for VA but my mother threatened to ground me if I didn't, not the typical way you get your kid to spend more time with you. I tried to use the excuse that my voice was not strong enough for me to be in VA, but the real reason was that I wasn't ready to go from spending almost no time with my mother at all to spending almost all of my day with her. I was afraid of the consequences of this and rightly so, my mom can be a straight up bitch. People just assume that once she gets home she sheds her Coach Corcoran persona and magically becomes this nice motherly figure, but I have yet to see that happen once. My mother is the same exact person at home as she is when she's coaching, she's tuff, cold and unfriendly to say the least.

We all turn our heads as we hear her piercing voice circulate though the auditorium.

"All of you off the stage now!" She barks, gesturing for us all to go sit in the front two rows of the auditorium. "Since you all seem to be having trouble grasping the concept of theatricality, I guess I will have to demonstrate. Funny girl E flat." She says looking over at our rehearsal pianist, she nods and the music starts. As she is singing our whole team is captivated, we might not get along, but I must admit my mother is extremely talented. I notice someone walking down the center aisle of the auditorium I squint but I can't make out who it is, whoever it is defiantly isn't from our team because they aren't in costume.

"Hey," I whisper, slapping Andrea's knee who is sitting next to me to get her attention, "Who is that?" I say pointing towards the figure as she makes her way closer to the stage.

"I have no idea, what the hell is she doing? This is a closed rehearsal if coach sees her, she's going to get her ass handed to her." Andrea whispers back to me. My mother finishes her song, holding out the endnote perfectly. The girl is practically standing at the foot of the stage, in front of all of us looking directly up at my mother.

"What is she doing?" I mouth to Andrea who shrugs vigorously and mouths back, "I don't know!" Suddenly the girl starts to talk.

"Ms. Corcoran?" She says quietly almost barely audible to us, "I'm Rachel Berry, I'm your daughter."