Disclaimer: Jo and Brandi do not own Glee, Life with Derek, or anything else we borrow for the purposes of this story.
It was another typical morning at William McKinley High School in London, Ohio.
The Cheerios, McKinley's junior cheerleading team, was practicing on the football field.
As Paul Greeby drove by in his beat-up blue Honda, he heard the Cheerios coach snarl into his bullhorn, "You think this is hard? Try being waterboarded, that's hard!"
He shook his head good-naturedly. He had been at that school for far too long for anything to rile him up that early in the morning. In fact, he had even been a student there himself, once upon a time. Now he was grown up, married, and genuinely enjoyed his job as the guidance counselor/computer teacher. (McKinley's got a tight budget.)
The car lurched to a stop, and Paul spied some jocks chatting with Sheldon Shlepper. He found it odd, because, well, Sheldon was a Shlepper. Paul had graduated with Sheldon's uncle, who had been just as dorky and nerdy, and all the other put-downs you could think of for a kid in high school. Paul sighed. He'd have to go over and make sure Sheldon wasn't about to get pantsed, or beaten up, or thrown in the nearby dumpster.
Paul sauntered over, putting on his "buddy" face instead of his "teacher" one. "Making some new friends, Sheldon?" he asked the terrified boy with a reassuring smile.
"He sure is, Paul," Derek Venturi, king of the tenth grade, replied for him with a smirk. Paul did not trust that kid's smirk one bit. He had started calling Mr. Greeby "Paul" after his first round of principal-ordered counseling last semester. Truth be told, Paul didn't mind it. But since Derek had started calling him by his first name, the practice had caught on across the school, and Paul's surname was eventually dropped by the entire student body altogether.
Paul gave him a warning look, one that Derek deflected with ease. Paul wasn't going to be able to help Sheldon now. He could only hope that Derek and his cronies had a relatively harmless plan in mind. What was he supposed to do, stand there and babysit Sheldon until the bell rang? Paul knew Derek would never actually hurt anyone. It was one of the many things he had learned about him in the four counseling sessions he had attended. Derek was actually a softie underneath his tough hockey-god exterior. But Paul knew it was wise to keep that information to himself. High school was all about social status, and far be it from Paul to keep a genuinely good-hearted kid from his crown. He did like to keep an extra eye on him sometimes, though, make sure he was going down the right path. His parents had divorced a few years ago, and Derek lived with his father and two younger siblings. They hadn't talked much about his mother or the split in their sessions, but Paul knew there were some unresolved feelings there.
Since Derek had barely flinched at Paul's attempt at menace, he turned to dim-but-sweet Stavros "Ralph" Papadopoulos, Derek's best friend. "Hey Ralph," Paul grinned, "you still owe me that report on HTML, remember?"
Ralph looked puzzled. "Uh…Almost halfway done with almost all of it, Paul," he stuttered, while Derek rolled his eyes. Paul felt bad for Ralph sometimes, but he knew he wasn't as dumb as he appeared. He just took a little more time learning some things than others did. Paul tried his best to help him keep up in his computer class, but Ralph really didn't belong there. He was taking it to make his grandmother happy. That boy loved his grandmother, which was one of the qualities Paul admired most about him.
Paul decided to leave them alone. It was almost time for the first bell; Sheldon would probably be safe. He waved at the group with an extra glance in Derek's direction. Paul had a busy day ahead of him, and he hoped Mr. Venturi could stay out of trouble, and out of his guidance office chair, long enough for him to get some work done.
~L~
As soon as Paul was out of sight, Derek lunged at Sheldon. "It's Hammer Time," he crowed as he and a few of his friends lifted the squirming Shlepper off the ground and towards the nearby dumpster.
"Please! My gram knitted me this sweater!" Sheldon pleaded.
Derek and Ralph exchanged a look. Derek knew Sheldon had picked the right thing to say in front of Ralph. Sure enough, Ralph held up a hand for the guys to put Sheldon down. "Wait."
Derek sighed in exasperation. "Off," he barked at Sheldon.
Sheldon fumbled the sweater over his head and handed it to Ralph. "Nice! She crochets, huh?" Ralph said excitedly, examining the fabric.
Sheldon nodded. "She's making me an afghan next. She finished ten granny squares last night," he said proudly.
Ralph beamed. "Pretty good."
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Derek groaned. He threw up his hands and began walking away. Would he really have thrown Shlepper in the dumpster? Maybe, maybe not. But to not do it over granny squares? He felt like gagging. His best friend was so weird sometimes.
He could tell one of his buddies was about to call him out on walking away. "Don't even say it," he interrupted harshly, and everyone held their tongues.
It was nice being king.
~L~
Paul had entered the school by this point. He stared at the trophy case as the bell rang, searching for the trophy that always made him nostalgic. There it was, an imitation-silver monstrosity, gleaming with the words,
1993 Show Choir Championships
William McKinley High School
First Place
He smiled fondly at the picture that hung next to it, of his old choir teacher. The quote on the plaque beneath her photo read, "By its very definition, glee is about opening yourself up to joy." Mrs. Adler had died about ten years ago, after he graduated and before he began teaching. She had been an inspiration. Ever since he had been hired at McKinley, Paul had wanted to start up glee club again, relive his glory days as a teacher rather than as a participant. But the school just didn't have the resources anymore. He had two jobs as it was! Besides, show choir had fallen out of fashion. He would have to teach at a fancy prep school or something just to get enough singers to qualify. McKinley students weren't exactly known for their theatricality. The last drama club production had been a pitiful version of Fiddler on the Roof, in which the lead could not pronounce "l'chaim" to save his life.
Ms. Zeldin, the drama club advisor, was in her office when Paul knocked on the door during lunch. "Hey Kathy," he called brightly, though his insides were churning up his turkey club in a very unpleasant way.
"Come on in, Paul. I'm just going over ideas for the fall musical." She gave him a pained smile.
Paul tried to hide his wince. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I have an idea."
"Do tell!" Kathy rubbed her hands together conspiratorially.
"You graduated what, three years ahead of me? Remember how great glee club was in the nineties? It could be that way again," he began, but Kathy was already waving her hands in his face.
"Paul. I'm having enough trouble with the musicals! You really think we can find twelve good singers in this school, besides the one or two that already star in all of my productions?" She paused. "What kind of an educator am I? That sounds terrible, doesn't it?" She smiled ruefully at Paul.
"That's okay, Kath. Listen, I thought we could forego the musical this year and co-chair glee club. I don't know if we can find singers and dancers, but I'd really like to try."
Kathy knitted her eyebrows. "I don't know. I'm not sure I want to commit to such a…well, commitment. We'd be starting from scratch, Paul."
"That's what's so exciting about it! There might be all kinds of untapped talent here." Paul had become so attached to the idea in the last few hours since he'd thought of it that despite his initial anxiety, Kathy's reluctance barely fazed him now. He beamed at her.
"We-ell…"
"Come on, Kath!"
"I agree it would be fun to see what this generation can do with show choir. But honestly, glee club always meant more to you than it did to me. This is your baby. You should chair it."
Paul's face fell. "Alone?"
Kathy laughed. "Yes, alone. You're fully capable of teaching twelve kids to sing and dance. I could use a break from the after-school activities, to be honest. If glee doesn't work out, I'll do a fall musical. But the idea of leaving this place before six o'clock every night is pretty appealing."
Paul sighed. If he wanted this, he was going to have to do it himself. "If you're sure."
"I am," Kathy nodded. "But feel free to come to me if you need advice or whatever. I'm willing to bet you're a little rusty." She winked.
"Hey, I can still bust a move," Paul said, doing a little wiggle of the hips that make Kathy guffaw into her palm.
Paul waved goodbye and headed for the main office.
~L~
As soon as he got a hold of him, Paul announced to Principal Lassiter, "I'd like to start a glee club."
"You want to captain the Titanic, too?" Lassiter snarked.
Paul ignored his attempt at humor. "I think I can make it great again, like it was back in the nineties." In searching for an argument, his mind had flashed to Derek. Kids like him needed extracurriculars to keep them from terrorizing the Shleppers of the world. And kids like Sheldon needed a way to make themselves feel special. Glee club would be the perfect antidote to the high school blues. He doubted either Venturi or Shlepper would join, but at least the option would be available to them. That's how he rationalized all this in his head, anyway. As far as Lassiter needed to know, it had nothing to do with recapturing his own glee in life.
"There is no joy in these kids. They feel invisible," he continued, undeterred by Lassiter's disapproving frown. "That's why every one of them has a MySpace page." Come on, Lassiter, he silently begged.
Lassiter did some quick calculations on his adding machine. "Sixty bucks a month. That's what I'd need to keep this program up." His expression was unreadable.
Paul gulped. "And…you would expect me to pay it?"
Lassiter rubbed his forehead. "Well, I'm certainly not going to pay for it. Look, our cheerleading team was on ESPN last year. When glee club gets that kind of 'street cred'," he grimaced at the colloquialism, "the school board will be throwing money at you. Until then, sixty bucks a month, and you can use the props and costumes we have in storage."
Paul nodded. "Fair enough. Thank you, sir." He fled from the office, already formulating plans in his head. He hadn't expected this to be easy, and it would take a nasty little chunk out of his paycheck, but overall it was smooth sailing so far. He had even thought of a name: New Directions. Now he just needed members.
~L~
Emily Davis approached the New Directions sign-up sheet with trepidation. She had always been told she had a good voice, but she'd never sung in public. She needed this. Her unending quest to be popular had stalled when Derek Venturi, the boy she had been crushing on forever, rejected her invitation to the freshman formal last year. Now, she was looking for a new way to get into the in-crowd. She figured show choir was kind of dorky, but it was something new and different, and people liked Paul. She thought maybe a few of his students would sign up, and if they happened to be popular, great. If not, she would find another way. It didn't hurt to try.
"R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me," Emily sang, clear and strong. Her voice echoed around the auditorium and she felt sure this audition was in the bag. And not only that, it felt really good to belt out her favorite song in front of a bunch of people. Well, a few people. And Paul. Nobody popular had shown up for auditions, but at this point, she was hooked on performing. You could even say she was headed in a…new direction. She laughed inwardly at her pun, and sang even louder.
~L~
Sheldon Shlepper, who had decided to wear something from his grandmother every day from now on, glanced around the empty hallway. No jocks were around to make fun of him for joining show choir. He couldn't believe his luck as he signed his name to the audition list. Paul, who had always been nice to him, was running it, and it combined his two favorite things: music and showboating. He would earn a spot for sure. He might get some extra ribbing from the popular crowd, but he already played the pan flute and wanted to run for class president. One more "dorky" extra-curricular wouldn't do any more damage.
"Hello, I'm Sheldon Shlepper, and I'll be singing 'Mr. Cellophane'," he announced to the tiny group in the auditorium. As he sang, he kept glancing at Paul, who was tapping along to the music with a smile on his face. Sheldon grinned throughout the rest of the number. He was in!
~L~
Noel Covington and Sam Richards signed up together. Not that they were together. Sam wasn't gay. He wasn't. Just because Derek had started that rumor in sixth grade and effectively ended their twelve-year friendship did not mean that he would stop hanging out with his new best friend Noel, the sensitive poet. Joining show choir would destroy their reputations for good. But, Sam reasoned, they mostly stayed out of Derek's way anyway, and Paul was running it. He figured Paul was happily married. He was proof that singing did not automatically determine a man's sexuality.
Noel was all for it. He loved singing. Sometimes he set his poems to music.
Sam wasn't so sure it was his own calling, but he had a decent voice.
"I kissed a girl and I liked it," Sam sang, shaky at first, but growing more confident with each syllable. Noel had begged him to do a different song, but Sam liked that one. It was fun to sing. After all, that's why Sam was there in the first place. To have fun.
~L~
Casey McDonald was a nervous wreck. It was her first day at a new school. She had gone to an all-girls' school in Chicago, and not only was she about to enter co-education for the first time, the only other student she knew was the vile and repulsive Derek Venturi. You couldn't even say she knew him. Her mother had moved her a million miles away from her home because of her job, and what did she do? She met a man. And this man had two cute kids…and a teenage son. He couldn't even be called a son. He was a leech. A parasite. She had met him for half an hour when her mother and his father had insisted they all go out to dinner. Derek had left early for a date, and George, that was her mother's new boyfriend's name, let him leave. She thought maybe he would be nice enough to give her a tour of the school, maybe give her some advice. But no. He had barely looked at her.
She tried to put the troglodyte out of her head as she entered the halls of McKinley for the first time. She had come in close enough to the beginning of the year that she was not behind in school work, but since she was the only new kid in the sophomore class, everyone else had already known each other from last year.
Her saving grace came in the form of her locker mate (jeez, this school was brutally underfunded), Emily Davis. She was sweet, and friendly, and promised to introduce her to some people. Casey threw up in her mouth a little bit when Derek walked by, and Emily not only swooned, she actually batted her eyelashes at him. He gave her a half-nod, and when he saw Casey, his lip curled upward, but he said nothing. Casey went back to putting her books in the locker. She decided not to mention to Emily that she knew Derek, or that their parents were currently involved in some sort of midlife crisis that caused them to be together every waking moment. Casey tried not to think about the fact that she could end up with Derek as a stepbrother. Ugh.
Emily mentioned something about show choir auditions. Casey snapped to attention. That was her thing. She loved performing. She had been the lead in all of the musicals at her old school. Her dream was to play Baby in Dirty Dancing at Toronto's Royal Alexandra Theatre. Or, you know, Broadway would be good, too.
The auditions were that day, but she already knew what she'd be singing. "On My Own," from the seminal classic, Les Misérables. Casey never hit a wrong note, her voice never cracked, and she was an impeccable dancer. That wasn't hubris, it was just fact. She was destined to be one of the greats.
Her mother had done nothing but encourage her for her whole life. She had been in dance classes since she was two, tap shoes since she was four, and en pointe since she was ten. Again, not bragging, just the truth. She was going to be Famous one day. So Famous that they'd name a dance move after her. Or a band, like Natalie Portman. Or an entire theater. Didn't matter. As long as everyone in North America knew her name.
Casey raced over to sign up as soon as Emily finished telling her the details. She had only a few hours before the audition, and she hoped she wasn't too late. The sign-up sheet was still there, with Emily's name at the top, and some other names she didn't recognize in between. But she would know them soon enough. After all, any teacher that did not admit her after the audition she was going to give was obviously a tone-deaf hack.
Casey signed her name with a flourish and placed her signature number ten in superscript at the end of the "d" in McDonald. She realized that it was a little bit obnoxious, but she didn't care. It had been her signature ever since she was seven and got a perfect ten at the finals from every gymnastics judge in Chicago. She put it in her signature to remind herself that she should always strive to be a perfect ten in everything she did, not just performing. Call her a perfectionist, call her whatever name you want, but she was going to be the best perfectionist, the best keener, the best freak anyone had ever seen!
As she turned away from the sign-up sheet, a blast of freezing cold liquid hit her square in the face. It oozed into her ears, down her shirt, and she was sure a large amount was already wreaking havoc with her hair.
"Jerk!" she shouted at Derek's retreating back. Coward didn't even stick around to clean up his own mess. She was sure it was Derek, though. He'd had that leather jacket on at dinner, too.
"Keener!" he shouted back over his shoulder. A few of his cronies laughed. She briefly wondered if he had told anyone that their parents were dating. But it didn't matter. It looked like he was going to be tormenting her regardless of any kind of connection.
She didn't even realize she was crying until she got to the ladies room and saw that two trails of water had washed away the slushie on her cheeks. She had a feeling that this might be the torture of choice at this school. At her old school, it had been catty remarks made over lipstick touch-ups in the girls' room. But of course, she had never been the target of any of that. She had been popular at her old school. And now she was at school with…ick. Boys.
The show choir advisor, Mr. Greeby, pulled her out of study hall for a meeting in his office, about an hour after the slushie incident. She had managed to get cleaned up, but there was still a large red stain all over her white shirt. She didn't even have a sweater to cover it up.
"Hello there, Miss McDon…oh," Paul cringed. "I'm sorry to see you've already been slushied," he said with a straight face.
Casey couldn't help but smile. "Hi, Mr. Greeby. It's okay. I was honored to get a unique McKinley welcome. It's a pleasure to meet you." She sounded a lot braver than she felt.
"It's nice to meet you, too, Casey. And please call me Paul. Everybody does." His warmth was infectious, and Casey found herself very comfortable around him, which didn't happen often with anyone of the opposite sex. If all the teachers were this nice, she was going to do well at this school.
"I called you in here to check in, see how your first day is going, all that," Paul continued. "Besides the obvious, how are you holding up?"
Casey shrugged and took a seat when he motioned to the chair across from his desk. "I'm fine. I'm locker mates with Emily Davis, who's really nice. And I like my classes. Oh, and I signed up for New Directions!" She beamed at him, and his reaction didn't disappoint.
"That's wonderful, Casey!" Paul had read in her file only a few minutes ago that she was quite musical, so this really was good news, for both of them. "It'll be a great way to make some friends."
"I hope so. I only know Emily so far. Oh, and Derek," she added, trying to sound offhand.
Paul's head snapped up. "Is he the one who…" he motioned to her shirt and his stomach dropped. Come on, Derek, he groaned inwardly. Preying on the new kid already?
Casey nodded. "It gets worse. I've been in London a week, and for five of those days, my mom has been dating his dad."
Paul took a second to compose himself from the shock and resolved to remain professional. "That must be hard. Have you and Derek officially met?"
"Yes, at dinner last night. But he wasn't very friendly."
"Derek takes a while to warm up to new people," Paul said, trying to be fair to his troublesome student. "I'm sure you two will get to be friends."
"I don't think so. But that's okay. It's not like my mom's going to get married, right?" Casey said, as if asking Paul to play fortune teller.
Paul gave Casey a long look. "Casey, no one knows what's going to happen tomorrow. Why don't you concentrate on taking things one day at a time? Especially now. You're under a lot of stress, with the move and starting a new school. I wouldn't worry about Derek. He'll come around eventually, and if not, he's not worth your time."
Casey nodded. "Okay."
"Oh, but let me know if he slushies you again. I try to keep on top of that sort of thing, but obviously I can't be everywhere at once. And let me know if you need to talk. My door is always open."
"Thank you. I will."
Casey left, and Paul sat back in his chair. Becoming friends with a driven, ambitious student like Casey might be just what Derek needed to get his act together. Paul knew he slipped into bullying every now and again, but he remained convinced that with a little guidance, Derek would turn out to be a wonderful man. He wondered if he could somehow trick Derek into joining New Directions. But that was a little unethical, and highly unlikely that even if he could sing, he would do well in a choir. He also thought about calling Derek to his office to reprimand him for the slushie incident, but decided it was none of his business, especially because he had no hard evidence that Derek had done it. Paul and Derek had an uneasy peace, and he needed to stay on Derek's good side in order to affect any positive change.
Paul's head was starting to hurt. He couldn't wait for auditions. He could clear his head and just listen to kids rocking out.
~L~
Emily was impressive. Sheldon had great stage presence. Sam and Noel were a little rough, but had solid voices. And Casey. Casey was as phenomenal as her resume claimed. He couldn't believe his luck! Five auditions, five members. And most importantly, five enthusiastic singers.
Unfortunately, the first rehearsal the next day was, to put it mildly, a disaster. Casey was the only one with dance training, but even that couldn't save her when Sam's hand was too sweaty to properly execute any kind of partnered dance. Paul couldn't pair her with Noel because he had no rhythm whatsoever, and Sheldon had instantly taken to Emily. Those two would actually be pretty good together, once Emily learned to stop stepping on his toes.
The five of them were getting along well enough, and, Paul thought, for some it was a little too well. Noel and Sam had perked up as soon as Casey entered the room, and stepped all over each other trying to be the first to introduce themselves. Casey was gorgeous, there was no denying that, but he couldn't have two of his singers (let alone two best friends) vying for her affection. It would throw off the whole dynamic of the group. And Emily and Sheldon had known each other peripherally, but Sheldon had lit up the moment he heard Emily sing. Emily was not so impressed by Sheldon, however, probably having already seen him as Motel in Fiddler last year.
"We suck!" Emily cried in frustration after their fifth attempt at "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat" from Guys and Dolls.
"It'll get there," Paul promised. He had to keep reminding himself that it was only the first rehearsal.
"Paul," Casey whined. "Do you have any idea how ridiculous this is? We're doing anything but rocking the boat right now. Sheldon cannot carry this song."
Sheldon was barely offended, because he knew he was good. "Whatever, Case. A little irony never hurt anyone. We'll get better."
Casey folded her arms. "There is nothing ironic about show choir," she huffed. Then she turned on her heel and stormed out.
Paul sighed. "Just keep practicing while I go find Casey." The remaining members launched into another sloppy yet somehow endearing version of "Sit Down".
He followed Casey out to the bleachers, waiting a beat before sitting down next to her.
"It's not fair. I was among equals, well, maybe not equals, but certainly girls with comparable talent at my old school. Here, I don't know anybody, there are boys, and we're a terrible show choir." She was sniffling. The tears would come any minute.
"I know it's hard," Paul sympathized. "But you have to keep going. You're the backbone of this choir, Casey, I can tell. You know you're the best singer. But Sheldon's pretty good, too. Everyone has his or her own strengths. And part of being in a choir like this is helping each other and learning from each other."
"I guess." Casey looked unconvinced.
"Do the boys really bother you all that much?" Paul teased. But it was a legitimate question.
"No," Casey smiled through her tears. "It's just strange to be singing with them. Sheldon and I do harmonize pretty well. And Sam…" she blushed.
"You like Sam?" Paul asked, fully expecting a denial.
"He's pretty cute," Casey nodded.
"Well." Paul grinned in spite of his earlier annoyance at the flirtation. "I should probably caution you to take things slowly. Sam's a nice boy, though."
Casey rolled her eyes. "Please, Paul. I do not have time for a boyfriend. I'm trying to get Famous, remember? A significant other would only hold me back."
Paul hid a smile. This girl was too much. "So, just admiring him from afar, then?"
"You're the strangest teacher I've ever met, Paul," Casey said, meaning it in the best possible way.
"Thank you, I think," Paul chuckled. He stood up. "Shall we go back inside?"
"Yes. Hey Paul?"
"Hm?"
"Do you think we could keep looking for a male vocalist? I really need someone who can keep up with me, and Sheldon's fine, but he's just not leading man material, you know?"
"I'll try my best, Casey."
~L~
The next morning, Principal Lassiter called Paul into his office before the school day had even begun.
"My hands are tied, Paul. I need the auditorium. Alcoholics Anonymous wants to rent it out for their afternoon meetings."
"But we just started rehearsals!"
"There are a lot of drunks in this town, and they're paying me ten bucks a head."
Paul slumped in his seat and groaned. He knew Lassiter was not going to back down on this. The school needed the money. But he worked hard, and he had rights. "How about this? If we show at regionals, we get the auditorium. If not, AA can have it."
"What is it with you and this club? You only have five kids!"
"Guess you have nothing to worry about, then," Paul shot back.
Lassiter raised his eyebrows. "Fine."
Paul pumped his fist in the air. "Yes!" He didn't even care that Lassiter was watching.
"You're running detention for free to make it up to me," Lassiter said pointedly.
Paul's face fell. Unbelievable. But, he believed in his choir. "Deal."
Paul knew that if he was going to get New Directions to regionals, he would need more singers. The Cheerios were perfect because they could already move their bodies well. He just hoped some of them could sing. He hated to go to the varsity coach, because frankly, she scared him. The coach of the freshman team, Ryan "The Fridge" Sylvester, scared him a little less. He was a football player, a senior, and ruled over the upper classes the way Derek ruled over the freshmen and sophomores. But Ryan was actually mean. Derek just liked to pretend he was.
The kid had his own office and everything. And yet the school couldn't hire someone so that Paul didn't have to work two jobs on one salary? (He was never sure which one he would give up, given the choice. He loved computers, and yet he loved talking to the kids in a more informal way. Oh, well. With people like Ryan around, he would never be forced to choose.)
"Hey Ryan, mind if we talk for a minute?" Paul asked, knocking on Ryan's open door.
"Sure," he grunted. "What?"
Paul decided to cut right to the chase. "The glee club needs performers, and your Cheerios squad has some great ones. Do you think any of the girls would want to double up?"
Ryan sneered at him. "What you're doing right now is called blurring the lines. High school is a caste system. People fall into certain slots. Your jocks, your popular kids, they're up in my penthouse. The invisibles and the people playing live-action druids and trolls out in the forest live in my basement."
Paul really could not stand that smug, entitled son of a gun. But, as a teacher, he couldn't show his disdain. Asking in what he hoped was an innocent manner, he said, "So where does the glee club lie?"
Ryan snickered. "They're my gardeners and housekeepers."
Paul's face fell. He would get no love from The Fridge.
~L~
Paul went to see Kathy directly after his meeting with Ryan. He needed someone with a positive outlook on life, and Ms. Zeldin was usually optimistic.
"You just need to get them out of their boxes," she told him. "Kids are going to do what they think is cool even if that's not who they are."
"So how do I get kids on my side?"
"They follow the leader. If you can get a couple of the popular kids to sign up, the rest will fall right in."
"Derek?"
Kathy shrugged. "Doubtful. Maybe Ralph would, though. If you could get him away from Derek long enough." She rolled her eyes.
Derek had taken a drama course last semester for extra credit and spent each class period either pretend sword-fighting with the props or flirting with the girls. Sometimes both at the same time.
"Ralph, huh?" It was highly unlikely, but at this point, Paul would try anything.
~L~
He got an audience with the hockey team, and he was surprised to see Sam amongst them. He had no idea Sam played any sports. But it seemed that while Derek and Ralph were varsity, Sam was JV. That explained it. Sam liked the sport, but wasn't good enough to play with Derek. Which was, Paul thought sadly, probably a good thing. Paul winked at him as the guys took their seats in the locker room. Sam gave a half-hearted wave, terrified Paul would single him out because of glee. To Sam's immense relief, Paul only made a short speech about how he was looking for athletes with a good sense of balance and timing.
"Glee club needs guys," he finally admitted. There were scattered chuckles. "I'll put the sign-up sheet on the door to the locker room, so if anyone wants to sign up…" he trailed off, realizing from the stony faces staring back at him that this mission was futile.
Just for the heck of it, Paul went back to the locker room after hockey practice ended to see if anyone had dared to sign up. The sheet was full of rude language. Paul sighed. He refused to believe that New Directions would really end, just like that. It wasn't fair.
"…Even as I wander, I'm keeping you in sight," came a crystal clear voice from the showers. "You're a candle in the window on a cold dark winter's night…" the singer was good, whoever he was.
Paul crept toward the showers, aware that if anyone walked in right now, he would be caught in a terrible-seeming position. But he really needed to find out who was singing!
"…and I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might…"
Paul rounded the corner. It was Ralph. He couldn't believe it. Ralph's voice was beautiful.
"And I can't fight this feeling anym—" Ralph slipped on the soapy floor and slid backwards with a yelp.
Paul came running and grabbed Ralph just before his head collided with the ceramic tile floor.
"Paul!" Ralph gasped, sitting up. Paul looked away, eyes searching for a towel, but Ralph seemed to be completely oblivious to the fact that he was buck naked in the shower with a teacher. "You saved my life!" Ralph babbled thanks as Paul turned off the water, reached for a towel, and tossed it at Ralph.
Ralph wrapped the towel around himself and stood, still thanking Paul.
"I'm just glad you're okay, really," Paul said, still a little shaken.
"I owe you my life, dude!"
Paul took a deep breath. "It was nothing." He hoped Ralph wouldn't ask him why he was alone in the boys' locker room at a strange hour.
"I swear, anything I can do to repay you…"
Paul felt like a terrible person for even thinking it, but of course, his answer was to join New Directions. But he couldn't do that to Ralph.
"That's not necessary, Ralph. I was happy to help," he said uncomfortably.
"Really, Paul, anything. I really owe you."
Paul hated himself in that moment, but this was Ralph. He could always pretend it was a joke if Ralph didn't go for it. "Well, I'd love to have you in New Directions."
Ralph nodded and stuck out his still-wet hand. "Done."
Paul almost fell to the floor himself as they shook on it.
~L~
Ralph was excited about glee club. He had always loved to sing, but nobody knew about that, not even Derek. This was his chance to show off a little. He was always in Derek's shadow, even though they had a pretty equal friendship; Ralph never took any crap from Derek and vice versa. But Derek was the most popular guy in school, and Ralph had always been second-in-command. So it would be nice to do something just for himself for a change. Besides, his grandmother would be so proud to know he was a singer in a choir. She idolized old-timey people like Frank Sinatra and that Crosby guy with the funny-sounding first name.
Paul hid a smile when Ralph turned up to his first rehearsal wearing a bathrobe.
"I know it's not a real choir robe, but I figure it's close enough, right?"
Paul waited for a snide comment from Casey, but she giggled instead. Sam explained to Ralph that they actually wore costumes, not robes, and Ralph smiled wider than Paul had ever seen.
Ralph's rendition of "You're the One that I Want" hardly did Travolta justice. But Casey appreciated the power in his voice right away, and matched him note for note. The other four members looked a little bewildered that Ralph, of all people, had come to save the day.
As Casey grabbed Ralph's hand and began dancing with him, though, he looked terrified. Paul couldn't blame him. When Casey got going, she could be pretty intense.
When the song ended, Emily threw her sheet music at Sheldon and fumed, "I am so not down with this background singing thing! I didn't sign up for this to stand in the back and hum. I am Beyoncé, not Kelly Rowland!"
Paul knew she was right, but really, Casey and Ralph sounded so good together it was a shame to pair anyone else as leads. "It's just one song," he said to placate her.
"Besides, this is the first time we've actually sounded good," Noel chimed in. Emily gave him a death glare.
Paul rolled his eyes. "Let's run it again."
~L~
Derek was always glad when the person being yelled at wasn't him. But he wasn't so glad to see that it was Ralph the coach was chewing out during their hockey practice. He knew something was up with his friend; he had been really quiet the last few days. Ralph would talk when he was ready, though. All Derek could hear of the yelling was something about singing. But that didn't make much sense.
When Ralph returned to the ice, Derek asked him what was up.
Ralph shrugged. "Coach is upset that I have to miss practice Saturday."
Derek gaped at him. "You can't miss practice. Did someone die?"
Ralph crossed himself. "Du-ude, you can't say stuff like that! And no, no one died. I just have this thing to do."
"What thing?"
"My grandma…I have to help her cook, and you know, do things."
Derek was getting frustrated. Ralph was never this evasive. Sometimes he had trouble answering questions he didn't know the answers to, but this time, he was definitely playing dumb. "Why?" he tried.
"She just had…surgery."
"What kinda surgery?"
"She, uh, had to have her prostate out."
Derek nodded in mock understanding. He was pretty darn sure that women didn't have prostates, but he was going to ask his brother Edwin when he got home. The last thing he ever wanted to do was look like an idiot in front of Ralph. All he said was, "That's rough."
"Yeah." Ralph didn't say anything else, so Derek dropped it.
~L~
New Directions had plans on Saturday, of course. Ralph and Sam skipped hockey practice (Sam hadn't had much trouble getting out of it, because he wasn't varsity) and Paul convinced Ms. Zeldin to come along as a second chaperone. She had been excited to meet Casey the Wunderkind.
They headed a few towns over to check out Vocal Adrenaline, their stiffest competition at regionals. Casey's cousin Vicky attended the choir's school, but unlike her more theatrical cousin, Victoria would never be caught dead at a glee club performance.
Sam watched in annoyance as Ralph got in line for the snack bar next to Casey. Sam thought maybe she might have liked him, but since Ralph had joined New Directions, Casey bared looked at Sam. She only had eyes for the male lead. Sam tried not to be too disappointed. After all, Casey was awfully controlling, and more than a little crazy.
"You're very talented," Casey told Ralph, trying to make small talk.
"You think so?" Ralph beamed.
"Yeah." Casey smiled back. "I would know. I'm very talented too."
Sam rolled his eyes at Noel, and Noel snickered into his hand. Yup, definitely too high-maintenance. They tuned Casey out and began talking to Sheldon and Emily.
"I think the rest of the team expects us to become an item," Casey whispered to Ralph, blushing. "You know, you the hot male lead and me the stunning young ingénue everyone roots for," she explained, as if that made sense to Ralph.
Ralph didn't even bother to ask what the heck she was talking about. He got the gist: Casey liked him! Too bad he had to disappoint her.
"Well, I have a girlfriend," Ralph said sheepishly.
Casey blushed even harder. "Really? Who?"
"Sally Albright."
"Cheerleader Sally Albright?" Casey's face fell. Emily had pointed out the cheerleader clique in the cafeteria. Most of them were blonde, leggy, and gorgeous. Something else occurred to her; more gossip Emily had confided. "Isn't she the president of the Celibacy Club?"
Ralph nodded. That was the only thing he wished he could change about Sally. "Yeah. We've been together almost four months now. She's pretty cool…Ooh, I wonder if they have Sour Patch Kids!"
Casey shook her head in amusement as Ralph leaned over the candy counter.
As they filed into the auditorium, Paul told the kids that even though Vocal Adrenaline was supposedly good, there was no way they had more talent than New Directions did.
One show-stopping rendition of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" and six bug-eyed, slack-jawed teenagers later, Paul knew they were in trouble. Kathy looked at him in horror. "We're doomed," she mouthed. Paul could only nod.
~L~
Monday morning, Ralph took a back road to school and instantly regretted it when he was surrounded by a gaggle of jocks with Super Soakers that did not seem to contain water.
"Girls don't have prostates," Derek growled as he spun Ralph around to face him. Ralph found himself staring down the barrel of his best friend's gun. "You lied. And you betrayed the team. You need to be punished." He smirked, and Ralph laughed, relieved that it was all in good fun.
"You guys really scared me there for a second," Ralph said breathlessly.
Derek hated to do this. He cared about Ralph, he did. But how would it look if he just let this slide? Ralph blew off practice for a singing competition. And Casey was there, of all people. He couldn't have Ralph fraternizing with his soon-to-possibly-be stepsister. Or with any of her keener friends. It would destroy his reputation.
So Derek pulled the trigger along with his fellow hockey players.
Ralph smelled like prune juice for the rest of the day.
~L~
"Didn't see you at glee club yesterday," Casey said accusingly as she snuck up on Ralph between classes the next day.
Ralph stuck his head inside his locker. "Nope."
Casey's forehead creased. "Why?"
"I just can't, okay?"
"Because of Derek?" She had heard all about the Super Soaker incident from Emily.
"No!" Yes, he thought.
"He's a jerk, Ralph. And the sooner you see that, the better."
"Like you're some expert! You've never even met the guy!"
Casey's nostrils flared, but she stayed silent. She couldn't tell Ralph the truth. She just couldn't. Not yet, anyway. Their parents had been on yet another date the night before. They had wanted the kids to get together, but Casey and Derek refused. So Casey's sister Lizzie spent the evening with the Venturis, and had a great time. Casey picked her up around her bedtime and smiled a hello at Derek. Derek made his hand into an "L" shape and put it to his head with a smirk.
At least he hadn't assaulted her with any more frozen liquids…yet.
"No, I haven't met him…but I've heard bad things," Casey finally answered.
Ralph shrugged.
"Ralph!" Sally Albright came up behind him in the hallway and put her arms around his waist. "Hey, baby!"
Ralph grinned. "Hey, Sal. This is my friend Casey."
Casey could tell right away that Sally did not appreciate the use of the word "friend." But to her credit, only Sally's eyes remained cold while her lips offered a friendly greeting.
"Remember, Christ Crusaders tonight at five, my house," Sally said, pecking Ralph on the cheek and walking away. She shot Casey a dubious glance over her shoulder. Casey knew she would have a little bit of work to do if she wanted to remain friends, or whatever they were, with Ralph. She would have to win Sally over. She seemed nice enough, just protective.
"Look, I have to quit glee," Ralph apologized. "It conflicts with—"
"Your reputation?" Casey snapped. "You've really got something Ralph, and you're throwing it away. You can't keep worrying about what people think. You're better than all of them."
Ralph had nothing to say to that. So he simply walked away. Casey tried her best not to cry.
~L~
Ralph and Derek walked home together after school.
Derek gave him a small smile. "What do you want me to do, apologize? That's not me."
Ralph shrugged. "Whatever, dude."
Derek grabbed him by the arm. "Look. If I joined the flag team or something, you'd beat the crap out of me. You know it."
"Not literally I wouldn't."
"You know what I mean. Why glee?"
"I like it, okay?"
Derek was taken aback. "Really?"
"Yeah. But I quit, so it doesn't matter anymore."
"Good. Welcome back to the world of the normal." But Derek wasn't sure he was back. Ralph really did seem to like the singing thing.
They continued walking in silence.
"Get away from me!" someone yelled from a nearby alley.
Derek and Ralph exchanged questioning glances. "Let's check it out," Derek said.
A few senior football players were hassling Noel. He was blocked in and couldn't run.
"Leave him alone," Ralph told the nearest one.
The player laughed. "This is one thing the hockey team and the football team agree on, isn't it? This kid thinks he can sit at our booth at Nelly's and write poetry. You gonna let him get away with that, Venturi?" He looked at Derek.
Derek shrugged. "He's right," he told Ralph. "This is their beef. We have nothing to do with it."
"No." Ralph stood his ground. "I'm so sick of this. What makes you think you're so much better than Noel?" He pushed past the players and grabbed Noel's elbow. "Come on."
None of the football players seemed to want to start a fight, so they let Ralph lead Noel away. Of course, they subjected him to lots of catcalls instead. Derek paused a moment, then followed Ralph. He couldn't believe his best friend had just done that. The hockey team had an unspoken agreement with the football team to stay out of each other's business.
"Thanks, Ralph," Noel said gratefully, once they were far enough away to drown out the immature shouts.
"No problem, buddy. Want to come play Babe Raider with Derek and me?"
Derek gave Ralph a "No Way" glare, but it was too late. Noel smiled.
"Sure." He looked really happy to be included, and Derek softened a little. He felt a little tug, that he refused to believe was guilt, because he knew Noel had replaced Derek as Sam's best friend. But he was not going to suggest they invite Sam too. He. Was. Not.
When Ralph's parting words to Noel later that night were, "See you at glee tomorrow," Derek knew he had lost a little piece of Ralph to that keener circle of hell. But he didn't care as much as he thought he would. Besides, Noel was kinda cool to hang out with.
~L~
Casey was in full-on control freak mode at the next rehearsal. She tossed around phrases like, "I won my first dance competition at the age of three," and "I can do these steps in my sleep." Paul was running late, and she had attempted to take over practice. That didn't sit too well with anyone else, especially Emily.
"Listen, Case-zilla—" Emily began. Sheldon looked impressed at the nickname.
But she didn't get any further, because Ralph showed up. "Whoa, whoa, what's going on here? This is supposed to be fun!" he interrupted.
"Tell that to the dictator," Noel mumbled.
"What are you doing back?" Sheldon turned to Ralph. "I thought you quit on us."
Ralph looked at his feet. "Yeah…but I figured out that this is what I want to be doing. I don't want to be just a dumb jock anymore. I like being good at something. I like being with you guys." His eyes met Casey's.
Everyone looked at each other and shrugged, unsure if they should trust him.
Ralph mustered up some enthusiasm. "Come on, guys! We can be great, I know it! Noel, you play guitar. You can recruit the jazz band to back us up, right?"
Noel nodded. "I do have pull there."
"And Sheldon," Ralph continued, "you can get your gram to help with costumes."
"Of course." Sheldon bowed, which made Emily giggle.
"Casey can do choreography," Ralph went on.
Casey nodded. "I'd be happy to. If you want me…" she looked around at everyone, obviously sorry for being a diva. She was met with reassuring smiles.
Ralph to turned to Emily. "You can be our publicist, since you know the school so well."
Emily agreed.
"Sam…what are you good at, bro?"
Sam shrugged. "Uh…"
Ralph waved a hand dismissively. "We'll figure it out!"
"And what about you, Ralph?" Casey asked.
Ralph held up his iPod. "I've got the music."
~L~
Paul raced down the hallway towards the auditorium. He had had a dentist appointment that day and knew he would miss some of practice: maybe a few weak run-throughs, a few fumbled steps. But he was not expecting the sound coming out of the end of the hall.
Four voices harmonized the opening bars of a song he knew but couldn't quite place. He threw open the auditorium doors and saw with astonishment that his glee club was dressed in jeans and red shirts, owning that stage. They watched him come in and sit down with smiles on their faces, but that didn't break their concentration.
Ralph began the song, and Paul knew instantly what it was. It was a great choice for them.
"Just a small-town girl," Ralph sang, louder and more confidently than Paul had ever heard. "Living in a lonely world…" He walked forward.
Casey came up next to him and matched his steps. "Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit. He took the midnight train going anywhere…" She looked at Ralph with such trust in her eyes that it made Paul want to cry. Her voice was astounding, and their chemistry on that stage was electric.
They reached out for each other as their steps took them further apart on the stage.
Noel's electric guitar suddenly blended with the harmonized background vocals.
"A singer in a smoky room…"
"The smell of wine and cheap perfume…" Ralph joined Casey for the next line, "For a smile they can share the night. It goes on and on and on and on…"
Ralph spun her, and Casey got shivers as she looked into his eyes. Uh-oh. She was falling hard. She couldn't help herself. But she knew it could never go anywhere. Ralph was probably thinking of Sally.
But he wasn't. Ralph was lost in Casey's crystal blue eyes.
"Strangers, waiting, up and down the boulevard…" Casey and Ralph joined Emily, Sheldon, Sam, and Noel over by the jazz band and danced all together. "Their shadows, searching in the night…"
The others backed up and Casey and Ralph were front and center again. "Streetlight people, living just to find emotion, hiding somewhere in the night…" They raised their hands to the sky as the others rocked out on their microphones.
As the song continued and New Directions tore up the stage, Derek stood alone, hidden in the shadows of the balcony. He had come to see what all the fuss was about.
And now he knew. Ralph had said he loved to sing, but Derek had a feeling part of it was that brown-haired girl he was singing with. They looked at each other like there was no one else in the world. It made Derek uncomfortable. Sally was a nice girl. He liked her. He didn't want Ralph to do something he'd regret.
Especially with his dad's girlfriend's daughter, the freaky keener.
But the thing was, she looked absolutely beautiful out on that stage. Her voice went right through him and somehow made him want to sing along. He couldn't take his eyes off her. She was perfect.
"Don't stop believing…"
Uh-oh. He was in trouble.
"Hold on to that feeling…"
Big trouble.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the balcony, The Fridge, Sally, and her best friend Kendra Mason were spying, all for different reasons. None of them liked what they saw.
"Streetlight people…"
The glee club was good.
"Don't stop…"
Too good.
As the song ended, Paul gave them a standing ovation. "It's good, guys. It's a nine. But we need a ten."
Casey's frown at the imperfect score vanished. A perfect ten. She was definitely going to be able to do that.
"We'll get there," Ralph said, smiling at his new friends.
Paul sighed with relief. He could not believe his pipe dream to bring glee to McKinley had actually panned out. It looked like he had a serious contender for regionals on his hands.
He raised his arms to the stage and cried, "From the top!"