Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 18th cycle. Now cycle 19!

TV Titles Cycle - So this is Cycle 20! I wanted to do something special, so here we are! Some of you may remember a while back me asking for episode titles from tv shows. I've always found that a lot of shows have great episode titles, so this is how this cycle came to be. Each story will be inspired and titled after an episode from a different show. The influence of the episode may vary from story to story, not seeking to rely completely on it ;) You'll see...
Today's Show/Title: "Doctor Who" - Turn Left (thanks to Lyndseybug for making me see I forgot to update the intro ;) It is indeed NOT the West Wing *cackles*)

also, mm... IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! My second one in Gleekathon, which means I'm two whole age-numbers older than I was when I started *cackles*

Anyway, it would be pretty fantastic if you guys could go back through Gleekathon, read stories, maaaybe leave reviews... Would make this girl feel good on her birthday... and right now let's just say I need it, 'cause it's angling toward being the crappiest birthday I've ever had :(

This is why I always choose carefully what story goes up on my birthday :)

"Turn Left"
Emma

Her mother was going to drive her insane if she didn't find a job soon. She'd been on her case since she'd quit her previous job, saying how she should have stayed there, even when she tried to explain how miserable she'd been. "It would have passed," her mother would insist. Emma just carried on, and she began her search for a posting.

It wasn't easy; she didn't expect it to be, but it was frustrating. Sometimes she would hear about something, but then she'd visit the school and… it wasn't right, she could feel it… So she crossed it off and went on searching. Her mother would always ask her if her resume was right. She'd ask to see it, and Emma would give it to her, and then she'd go at it, pointing out things she should change. She wouldn't let it go, so Emma would sit at the computer and stomp out her mother's latest edits. Because that was the thing, she'd make the changes, her mother would go 'see, isn't that better?" then she'd have another strike out and then her resume wasn't satisfactory anymore… even things she'd made her change.

Then one day, she was sitting there, working at the latest 'Mom edits.' She was supposedly going to show up later that day with 'great news,' which could only mean one thing: she'd found 'the perfect job' for her. But then her mother's definition of perfect was… unstable. Now it became that Emma determined: She had to find something… before her mother arrived and dragged her off like the bad wolf, off to a fate of more misery… Not if she could help it.

"Oh, come on," she muttered to herself as she typed. "Delete, delete, delete," she attacked the backspace key. She added a couple finale things, and then it was done. "I'm not changing it again," she muttered to herself, ignoring the fact that these were the same words she always used when she'd hit 'print.' With a sigh, she rested her forehead on the desk.

She heard the tone from her computer and it took a beat before she could make herself look up. But she sighed and she opened up her e-mail. It was a new posting notice, a guidance counsellor position, from McKinley High in Lima. She blinked for a moment… considering…

She felt something, even just looking at the words on the screen… Chills… She knew: this was it, this was it…

She sat up straight again, picking up the phone. She dialled up the school and did her thing. She spoke to the woman and made her case, saying she'd send her resume and she'd come in whenever they wanted. The secretary said they'd call her back shortly.

Just as she'd hung up, there was the doorbell… Her mother. She sighed, grasping her phone. She'd called them, she'd sent her resume… Now it was their turn to do their part.

As she'd expected, her mother came in, all smiles… She'd found something, and now she wanted Emma to come along and see. She wasn't going to tell her about this job at McKinley, not yet. She knew what she'd say… That it would just end up the way all her other attempts had, since she'd thrown away 'a perfectly good job.' But Emma, she knew this one was different… So she wasn't going to let her mother ruin it for her.

Still for the moment she had to go with her, to satisfy her 'instincts.' If she didn't at least pretend to give this a shot it would never end… She would drive; her mother didn't like to drive unless she absolutely had to… and she didn't have to now, she had Emma.

So there she was, driving herself to her very own future, to more misery… She'd wanted for so long to feel like she was making a difference, but so far… nothing. She was nothing special…

She'd sort of drowned out her mother's impassioned ravings about this job she was taking her to. She just focused on the road. But then… Her phone rang. She blinked, snapped out of it and pulled the car to a stop. The caller ID said McKinley.

They'd liked her resume; she'd never tell her mother, but she had sent them the original one, without any changes… She'd felt it was right. They had an opening for an interview, but she had to come in that afternoon. She sat there for a moment, phone in hand, her mother asking who had called… The road ahead and a choice to make.

The way her mother was going on about it, this job was more or less a done deal… It was hers if she said the word. It was a guarantee, and McKinley… it was a possibility, depending on the interview and the people… She could take the chance that they would say yes, but what if they said no? She would have had said no to a guaranteed job, back to the start. Despite everything, the prospect of prolonged unemployment was not an appealing one, even to her. But could she really sacrifice this possibility? She could feel it, this one was different. She hadn't felt this before, not to this point. And if she gave it up… She'd have a job, elsewhere… But she would be so unhappy. If she went there, it would be just like she'd never left her original position, so it would be as though the last little while had meant nothing at all…

But ever since she'd left her work, she had felt that her life was changing, that she was going right where she'd needed to be. That feeling, it was right, and she wasn't ready to let it go… Just one more push…

"I… I'll be there," she put the phone back to her ear and answered, breathing out as she felt herself ramp up into action. As she hung up, she knew her mother was asking questions, but Emma didn't listen… she was smiling. "We're going the other way, mom," She told her as she pulled back on to the road and went the other way… To McKinley, to possibility… To where she belonged, where she could bring change.

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!