A/N: Hello all and welcome to my head! Or, you know, at least to my story. Anyway, this is going to be a song-fic of sorts but not every chapter will feature the characters actually singing? Does that make sense? Well...if not, it definitely will in chapter two. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, I do not own Adele's music and I do not own Mr Hudson's music.
Friday afternoon found the rehearsal room was filled with chatter as the members of the New Directions tried to come up with a theme for next week's assignment. Mr. Schuester decided that they'd been practicing really hard for the upcoming national competition and felt that the kids needed a break.
After much deliberation, Mr. Schuester finally decided on Adele.
"Focusing on Adele's music will give you all the chance to channel some of the emotional energy that seems to have faltered a bit," Mr. Schuester reasoned. "We did really well with writing our own songs at Regionals and if we want to continue that success, we really need to tap into the feelings that we've left buried deep, deep down. It'll be good for us!"
"I agree, Mr. Schue," Rachel, of course, was the first to speak once the theme was settled. "Personally, I think it would be best if I sang one of her more powerful ballads. It's the only way that I can really show off my talent and emotional commitment." Rachel nodded with satisfaction as some of her classmates rolled their eyes.
"Whatever, Rachel," Santana dismissed Rachel as she turned to address the Spanish teacher. "Mr. Schue, I'm all for everyone exploring feelings or whatever but singing about perpetual heartbreak isn't exactly my cup of tea. You want us to find a song that we really connect with but I don't see myself really connecting with Adele and her emotional masochism."
Mr. Schuester smiled. He wasn't surprised by Santana's lack of enthusiasm for the assignment.
"That's part of the beauty of it. This assignment can help those of us who may not be emotionally in-tune to explore ourselves on a deeper level. It's more than singing about the varying degrees of joy and pain that come with loving someone; it's also a way to reflect on how the very emotion might affect us. I'm sure you'll find one before the end of next week."
Santana sighed with slight annoyance and tuned out the rest of the meeting. She needed to finish filing her nails.
"Uh…Mr. Schuester, are the guys supposed to sing Adele, too?" Puck, who managed to tear himself away from Lauren long enough to assess the situation, looked slightly perturbed. "I mean, Adele is great and everything, but she isn't exactly guy-friendly."
Mr. Schuester took a moment to consider this. Though Puck had a point, he really didn't want to alienate anyone in the choir. And Adele's songs weren't the easiest for women to sing, let alone high school boys.
"Alright how about this; let's bring back the boys vs. girls set-up. It'll get us in the spirit for competition!"
"Mr. Schue, we've been in the spirit for competition since Regionals. Pitting us against each other again won't increase that," Kurt's slightly bored voice broke through the quiet buzz that had started once Mr. Schue proposed another boys vs. girls mini-competition.
"Kurt's right," Kurt turned in surprise to look at his step-brother. Finn had never been very vocal in supporting Kurt's ideas but he wasn't going to question the taller teen's sudden change. "We're as competitive as we're ever going to be. Besides, like Puck said, the guys can't exactly sing Adele. Well, maybe Kurt can, but that's about it. What are we supposed to sing?"
"Mr. Hudson!" Mike Chang spoke for the first time during the meeting and everyone turned to look at him in confusion. "What? Don't tell me you guys have never heard of him. He's another British recording artist and I think he'd fit this assignment pretty well."
Everyone still looked on in slight surprise.
"What? Just because I don't sing doesn't mean that I don't listen to music. Come on guys, give me a little credit here." Mike was a little miffed at his classmates' stares.
"Right you are, Mike. And I completely agree, Mr. Hudson is an excellent choice for this assignment. Now, if any of you are unfamiliar with his work, I expect you to be experts on him after this weekend. The same goes for the ladies with Adele."
"So is this going to be like a glee club British invasion?" Tina asked.
"It sure seems like it!" Mr. Schuester was brimming with excitement at how broad the New Direction's portfolio was getting.
Kurt raised his hand before they were dismissed.
"Mr. Schue, if I may? I'd like to stick with the original assignment and sing a song by Adele. While I do enjoy Mr. Hudson's work., I find that, in my case, Adele is more appropriate."
"Sure Kurt, that's fine. Anything else before we wrap up?" Upon seeing no one else raise their hand, Mr. Schuester dismissed the New Directions for the weekend.
A/N: Okay, so that was the first chapter. It was more of an intro to get the rest of the story set up. Good, bad or indifferent, let me know what you guys think!
- Jaz
