Disclaimer: epicaricacy does not own Glee.
The Palette of A Paradox
Chapter One – Ochre
The sky was a vibrant peach color; soft pinks and light blues swirled and splashed in the early morning sky. The young girl stepped out onto the porch; her auburn hair hanging like a curtain on both sides of her pale face. Her eyes, a deep cerulean color mixed with a lilac hue, flickered with emotion as the sun began to rise. It had been a habit of hers, ever since they moved to Lima five years ago, to watch the sun rise every morning. Waking up early to experience the warmth of the sun's rays made her feel calmer, somehow. She wasn't a very optimistic person, but sunrises were something she always looked forward to.
The sky was already the color of molten gold when she realized it was time to go to school. The bus had been honking for several minutes and her mother had been calling for her attention for countless times. She grabbed her tattered (but still useable) viridian backpack and rushed to the bus, hoping to stay invisible and out of everyone's way.
The ride to school was noisy and loud. The Cheerios behind sitting one row behind her were gossiping about stuff she really didn't want to know. The other losers in the bus were playing video games and the shouts and cries of the villains were getting very irksome. The normal people were chatting about their weekend, which was fine, until someone began talking about…other things she really didn't want to know about.
"Morning, Azure." A familiar female voice greeted her, as its owner slid to the bus seat beside her.
"Abigail." The girl replied curtly. She never really liked her name. It was too…different. It sounded happy and deep, and other qualities that she couldn't even hope to have. Names were always said to reflect a person, after all. Perhaps her parents lived for irony – or maybe they named her 'Azure' because they wanted someone to bring back blue skies and happy suns. Someone who could paint the world in a color brighter than gray. But maybe they just couldn't realize that this person wasn't their only child, Miss Azure St. Cloud.
"How's your weekend?" Abigail asked; her brown hair was curled today, perhaps to match her clothes and mood. She was dressed in another perfect ensemble, but Azure didn't really know much about clothes and make-up and things like those. Her friend, Abigail Walker, was the self-proclaimed queen of fashion at McKinley High, and one of the few people who would stand up to Quinn Fabray and her battalion of Cheerios.
"It was alright." Azure replied nonchalantly. She was dressed in an outfit apt for autumn – a long-sleeved shirt and a pair of dark wash jeans. On her feet were her trusty black Chuck Taylors.
Abigail opened her mouth as if to say something in return, and then shrugged. The bus stopped, and the students practically began running towards the door, with the two girls following the phalanx of teenagers closely behind.
When the bell rang, signaling the end of Spanish, the whole classroom seemed to be more at ease. The 'eager' pupils stormed out of the classroom, grumbling amongst themselves about the 'hellish' homework Mr. Schuester gave – a 1000-word essay about 'your philosophy of life and death' that was due the coming Friday.
"Ah, Miss Walker, I'd like to speak with you." Azure and Abigail were among the last to leave, as Azure was attempting to fix her broken backpack. The zipper wouldn't work again and she was worried all her things would fall out. Abigail raised an eyebrow at her friend, but still began to walk to the teacher.
"As you know, Abigail, I'm the teacher in charge of our school's Glee Club, 'New Directions.'" He began, "We need some members. If you'd like to join, the sign-up sheet's still in the hall."
It was then Mr. Schuester noticed that there was another person in the room. "Miss St. Cloud, the Glee Club would be delighted if you'd join too." He voice seemed quite strange, as if he found trouble saying them. Azure knew she couldn't sing, and she was pretty sure Mr. Schue was just saying those words because he was a kind man.
"The club's popular." Azure remarked; her words dripping with sarcasm. She glanced at the names written on the sheet. There was Mercedes Jones – she didn't know much about the girl except for the fact that she had quite an attitude; Rachel Berry – Azure found her quite annoying; Kurt Hummel – was it just her or did Abigail's face seem to bright up when she saw his name?; Tina Cohen-Chang – they were mutual friends and Azure was proud of her that she finally found the guts to sing; Artie Abrams – he was her classmate in English class.
"Aren't you signing up?" Abigail asked. Azure didn't know if she was joking or not. Her voice was teasing, but it seemed as if she was serious. "I mean, Glee's an extra-curricular activity….you know, for the grades?"
Azure shook her head as she looked at the piece of paper once more. It seemed to be mocking her; ridiculing her. Making fun of her status as a 'nobody.' And for a minute she actually considered signing up. Ah, what a laugh she'd be if she actually auditioned.
She took one more glance at the piece of paper. "I'm pretty sure I'm doing the whole school a favor by not signing up."