"But we do have Mercedes Jones coming in." Miss Pillsbury countered. "For my money, she has the most soulful voice here at McKinley.
"She's not white either, which I like for Maria. So, we'll keep an open mind." Coach Beiste said.
"Okeydoke. Um, Kurt Hummel for Tony. I mean let's talk about star quality, shall we?"
"Kurt was awesome," Artie stated.
"No question," Coach Beiste added. "He owned that song like it was his prison bitch. My thing is that Tony's supposed to be from the streets. He's the leader of the Jets - an Alpha gang member. I look at Kurt and I don't believe it."
"Well, respectfully, Coach, Tony's retired from the Jets. He's a poet of the urban jungle. There is a delicate wholesomeness to Kurt that's unexpected, but not unwelcome, for Tony. I mean, if I were Maria, I'd love to be held in Kurt's arms on my fire escape."
"Listen, I love the kid, but I want a Tony that excites my lady parts. Hummel's... too much of a lady."
"That was uncalled for and I am surprised to hear a woman of your stature who I am sure has had to deal with the opposite type of prejudice much of your life say something so hurtful about Kurt. You saw Kurt sing and flip around on the stage. You have never seen him completely transform into the character he's playing the way I have. You weren't here last year to see him in Rocky Horror. He was amazing."
"Miss Pillsbury, even you weren't here to witness Miss Mercedes getting all sorts of whack when she smashed Kurt's navigator windshield over the huge crush she had on him. I'm sure Mercedes would agree with Miss Pillsbury's assessment of Kurt's manliness."
"Seriously? Mercedes smashed his windshield?" Miss Pillsbury asked.
"With a brick. Zing, right through the windshield when he turned her down for a date."
"I wouldn't have seen that coming," Coach said.
"You should have seen Brittany all over him last fall, when he decided to give dating girls a try. He might like to dress all GQ and Vogue or whatever, but the girls ALL think he's cute. You might think he's their little pet, but if he weren't gay, those girls would all be fighting over him."
Miss Pillsbury added, "Just because he's sweet and kind doesn't make him less of a man."
"You've made your point. I was wrong. I should reserve my judgment. He was gone most of last year and it's only a few weeks into the semester. I don't know him as well as I should obviously. I'd like to see him back. This time I want to see him in a proper Tony costume and I want to hear him sing a song from the show, along with reading with Mercedes after her audition. Have them read together." Coach said.
"That sounds good to me. Let's give him a chance to prove to you that he's as good as I know he is," Miss Pillsbury said.
)( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )(
Kurt got up from underneath Miss Pillsbury's office window where he had been eavesdropping. He was considering whether she would appreciate an extra large bottle of hand sanitizer or a bottle of bleach as a thank you gift.
He hurried back into the school and went to his fifth period class. He struggled to pay attention, but he managed to follow along about balancing equations, mostly.
He knew that Mercedes and Blaine were auditioning after school today and that meant that at some point, he'd get asked to come back and sing again. He wasn't prepared, but he'd pull out a show stopping rendition of "One Hand, One Heart" with Mercedes. He knew he could do it.
Class finally ended and he went to his next class. Fortunately for him, it was English and they had a substitute who told them to read a story in their lit books. He used his phone to quickly pull up the scene before the song started and he reviewed the lines so he could do it without looking at anything during his chance to prove himself. The sub never bothered to look up from her phone the entire period. He was ready.
)( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )(
He entered the choir room and Miss Pillsbury was there waiting for him.
"He'll be back in 10 minutes," she said to Mr. Schue as she ushered Kurt out the door.
Once they were in her office with the door closed, she began to speak.
"Kurt, we'd like you to stay after Glee today and read with Mercedes after she auditions. And we'd like you to sing again, but this time a song from the show."
"Alright. Can we do "One Hand, One Heart"?"
"You can do whatever the two of you want. Just pull out the stops and show us Tony."
"I'll be there. Does Mercedes know?"
"Yes, I talked to her last period. But she won't say anything during Glee. Oh, and find something from the school's costumes to make yourself look more like Tony."
"Got it. I'll do that while the others are auditioning. Thank you."
"You're welcome, Kurt."
)( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )(
As soon as Glee finished, Kurt and Mercedes headed to the stage. He picked outa jacket and a thin tie and put them on. He had brought his hairspray from his locker and did what he could to restyle his hair more to the time period of the play.
He was in the wings when Blaine auditioned. A Tony song? Why was Blaine singing a Tony song when he had agreed not to audition for Tony? Kurt stood where he couldn't be seen and mostly listened and took a peek now and then. Blaine moved around the stage a bit, mostly just walking and a some arm movements.
The three directors clapped. Artie looked at Blaine's audition form and spoke up before Blaine exited the stage.
"Wait. Wait," he said. "On your audition form, you said you were only interested in the role of Bernardo."
"Uh, yeah. Or, or, um Officer Krupke. Either one is fine."
Artie asked, "Would you mind reading for Tony?"
Blaine paused, seemingly surprised by the request. He took a breath and pursed his lips.
Kurt couldn't believe it. Blaine said he wouldn't audition for Tony and he was being handed a side to read right now. Kurt turned and moved from his spot while Blaine was busy looking at the paper. He couldn't stand to be there to hear Blaine break his promise, but he realized that he couldn't move from where he was standing without being seen.
)( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )(
After Blaine exited the stage, Mercedes went out on stage. Kurt could see that Rachel was standing on the same side of the stage as he was. Mercedes was wearing a fabulous black dressed and absolutely killed "Living Under Your Spotlight."
Miss Pillsbury was the first to speak after the clapping died down. "Mercedes, I've never seen you like this before. Really, you're so..."
"Glamorous," Artie and Coach Beiste both said.
"Well, I just wanted you guys to see me the way I see myself now - as a leading lady."
"Well, it was wonderful. It was beautiful," Miss Pillsbury said. The three of them started clapping again.
She walked off the stage, right into Shane's arms and he kissed her. "I'm so proud of you," he said.
Kurt saw Rachel walk past, wiping tears from her eyes.
)( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )(
After Rachel had left the area, he came out from where he was standing and walked out onto the stage. Mercedes saw him and walked to meet him center stage.
"All right, you two. Let's see what you have to show us," Coach Beiste called out.
Kurt had written out the scene before the song for Mercedes. He didn't know if she had it memorized or not. He walked back off stage and grabbed some folding chairs and put them on the stage to use instead of the mannequins the scene called for.
Kurt was thrilled to see that Mercedes caught on and started right in with him, no paper in her hands. They went through the whole scene, alternating between flirty and serious. Kurt took notice of the dress Mercedes was wearing and opted to just stand for the song.
"Make of our hearts, one heart..." they sang together.
Miss Pillsbury had chills running down her arms. Kurt could see her brushing them off. Artie smiled. Coach Beiste looked pleasantly surprised.
When they finished, all three of them applauded loudly.
"Great job, you two," Coach Beiste said.
"Thank you," Kurt said.
Mercedes curtsied slightly and nodded. "Thanks."
Kurt grabbed the chairs and carried them all off stage again. Mercedes went back to the other side of the stage to Shane. They left together.
Kurt hung the suit jacket and tie up quickly, put his own vest and tie back on, and headed up the stairs to the closest balcony to stand where he couldn't be seen.
)( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )(
"Well, I have to give it to you, Emma. Kurt killed it. I've never heard him sing low like that. I didn't even know he could sing low."
"He can sing lower than that," Artie said.
"I had no idea," she said. "He and Mercedes are my picks."
Artie asked, "So, you don't want to have Rachel and Blaine back to audition together like we had Kurt and Mercedes do today?"
"Well, we could," Miss Pillsbury said. "But I don't really see why, unless one of you really thinks that she and Blaine can be better than the two of them were and I don't see how that's possible. But given her nature, I can see why we might want to do it - to have a side-by-side comparison to show her if she asks."
"That's fine with me. Let me call them and see if they're still here." Artie called them both and got them back to the auditorium.
)( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )(
They walked in about the same time.
"Rachel, Blaine," Artie started. "We'd like to see the two of you perform the scene before "One Hand, One Heart" and then sing the song.
"Of course," Rachel said. "I know that scene by heart."
Blaine said, "Can I have a minute to find the lines?"
"Sure, Blaine," Miss Pillsbury said. "We'll give the two of you 10 minutes."
The three directors turned to talk to each other about other roles and compared their written notes. When the 10 minutes were up, they stopped talking and focused on the stage again.
"Are you two ready?" Coach asked.
"Um, sure," Blaine said.
"Yes, of course," Rachel added, flipping her hair back over her shoulder.
They started the scene and made it through. They knelt and sang together. When they had finished, they stood.
"Thank you," Miss Pillsbury said. "We appreciate you coming back in to sing together for us."
They both nodded and exited the stage.
Kurt was in shock. Not only did Blaine go ahead and read the lines, he came back in and auditioned with Rachel. He didn't just read the lines because he was put on the spot. Kurt stayed where he was and listened to see if the three directors would say anything else or whether they were leaving.
)( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )( ~~ )(
"Well, I'll be," Coach Beiste said. "I couldn't be more surprised. You were right, Emma. Kurt and Mercedes have chemistry. Blaine and Rachel sang the song well, but I didn't feel it.
"It's been a while since I've seen that side of Kurt," Artie said. "He's been a lot more mellow with Blaine around, now that I think about it. I haven't seen a corset, skirt or any bondage wear all year."
Kurt thought about it. Artie was right. He'd worn gray and white several days a week so far.
"Maybe the whole incident with prom last year stuck with him and influenced his clothing choices," Miss Pillsbury suggested. She lowered her voice, "Figgins should have never read those results. He should have given that crown to the top girl candidate. Humiliating Kurt was just wrong, and as an educator he should have not done that."
Kurt was impressed. Miss Pillsbury packed more of a punch than she let on most of the time.
"Well, whatever is going on with his clothing choices this year is irrelevant," Coach Beiste refocused the conversation. "You recorded both of their callbacks, right Artie?"
"I did, Coach."
"Well, then, I say we're done. Kurt and Mercedes will play Tony and Maria. Now, let's get the rest of this list ready to hang tomorrow."