Will Schuester walked to the Glee room with a smile on his face. He had had a very productive day: his classes had gone well; his lawyer told him that his divorce was progressing smoothly, and he had thought of a great theme for his kids to work on today. Unfortunately, two steps in the door and before he'd opened his mouth, Rachel Berry stepped out of the embrace of her boyfriend and newest New Direction member Jesse St. James and opened hers.
"Mr. Schue," she began diplomatically. "Despite the no doubt amazing theme you have in mind for us this week, a few of us were wondering if instead we could put together a sort of…class-related project."
As he looked at her in confusion, Puck spoke up, "You see Mr. Schue, the new teacher in drama, Ms. Banger--"
Will racked his brain. He remembered Sandy being fired (again), and Emma being excited about the new teacher replacing him, but he couldn't remember her face. However, it must have been noteworthy, because as Puck said the name, he met the eyes of Mike and Matt, who grinned, while Santana, Brittany, and Quinn giggled.
"Anyways," he continued, "she assigned this big project last week-"
"I'm handing each one of you the name of one of the three plays we'll be reading from for the rest of the year," a young dark-haired beauty stated, as she roamed up and down the aisles, checking names and placing cards on appropriate desks. "Your project is to find a form of expression outside of the play that encompasses one of its characters: it can be a drawing, a dance, even a song—classical or contemporary, I don't care. However, you have to be able to justify it to me, and perform for the class two weeks from now. Good luck."
"- and since we're in Glee anyways, we thought we'd work together."
"A collaboration with everyone to make the best effort." Rachel finished.
Will looked at them, a little dumbfounded. Even Brittany and Santana looked up for this. "Well, sure, if that's what you guys want. Which plays are you working on?"
The kids gave up their cards, and Will wrote them on the whiteboard:
Rachel and Quinn, Romeo and Juliet
Santana, Richard III
Brittany, Finn, and Puck, a Midsummer Night's Dream
"Wow, guys—this is a hefty list…" Will started, but Quinn quickly chimed, "Oh don't worry, Mr. Schue—we've already gone over our plays."
Will looked around, and was again incredulous—all six- even Brittany- looked completely serious about knowing the content of their work.
"Well, okay," he finally said. "Does anyone have any ideas?"
Will thought he already knew what was going to come out, but was surprised when Rachel said, "Actually, Quinn and I were thinking of trying a duet for Juliet—because she seems kind of young and unsure, but so head-over-heels for Romeo at the same time."
"I figured I'd try out Puck's character—at least I'm comfortable with the name," Puck replied.
"I guess I was thinking Demetrius maybe…" Finn answered.
"The Fairy Queen," Brittany said simply.
"Whatever," Santana said. "I'm doing Lady Anne." When Will stared at her, she shrugged. "She only has one scene."
Will left them to their own devices, but he was amazed. As a teacher, he'd never seen students this confident in school period, let alone Shakespeare. He was speechless.
The next morning he made his way to Emma Pillsbury's office and began, "Hey Emma, you're not going to believe—"
Will stopped, staring at the picture before him. There was Emma, somewhat rigid as was her style (though still completely adorable to him), and leaning on her desk was a young brunette with a white blouse, dark jacket and skirt set that, while professional, showed off amazingly long, sexy legs. Her long hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but it cascaded down her shoulders as she leaned over the desk. Both of them were giggling like schoolgirls.
"Oh Will," Emma said, straightening and standing as the other woman got a grip on herself. "This is Adrianne Banger, the new theater and English teacher. Adrianne, this is Will Schuester, Spanish teacher and Glee Club director."
Adrianne followed Emma's lead, quieting her laugh, though unable to hide her huge grin; which, Will thought, suited her well. "It's very nice to meet you Will. I've met some of your kids. They're quite a trip."
"You've made quite an impression yourself." He replied. "They all approached me yesterday about your project."
"I'm glad they're taking it seriously." She smiled, and he knew that she didn't have a doubt when they'd walked out her door what they'd be doing.
"I'm amazed that you're having this much success: I saw the plays you're tackling."
"Well, they're smart kids." She smiled and turned to Emma. "I've got to go Ems—I've got to get ready for my class. I'll call you later?" And with a nod from Emma, she whisked out the door.
"She's a teacher?" Will turned to Emma as soon as they were alone. "She can't be older than—"
"She's twenty-six, Will" Emma told him, pulling out a sanitary wipe and wiping down her desk. "This is her third year teaching and she's more than capable."
"How did you two become such quick friends?" Will asked her.
Emma explained, "She's a friend of the family: my mother used to babysit her. When Sandy was…dismissed again, I recommended her."
"But how is she getting them to do this stuff?" Will asked her, still incredulous. He waited for her to look up at him. "She's got Brittany reading A Midsummer Night's Dream?!"
"Adrianne's very good at finding what people are good at and using that to make them do what she wants, Will." Emma smiled a little. "Once, she convinced me that her dog had one of her earrings stuck in its fur and the only way to find it was to give it a bath." She looked up meaningfully at Will. "She was lying, of course, but she knew I wanted to play with him and couldn't get past the dirt on his coat."
Will looked at Emma, amazed at the seeming Wonder Woman that had just left the office.