AUTHOR'S NOTE (A/N): Hey everyone! This is the 'new story' I mentioned a few weeks ago. This is actually the first idea I ever had for a Glee fic, so I'm glad to finally begin writing it. A friend of mine asked me to start ASAP (we're excited for the 2013 remake of "Carrie" that's going to be released soon. I love the original!), so I don't want you to think I'm going to focus solely on this instead of my other fics. "Thanks for all the joy and pain" is going be updated tomorrow, and "Love always, Mercedes" soon too.

Hope you enjoy!

January 10, 2012

6:55 AM…

While buried under several layers of blankets and quilts, Gelna Jones hears her alarm clock blaring. She groans softly and tries her hardest to ignore the awful sounds, sounds that meant the time of dread was near: Time to get up and head back to the hellhole also known as McKinley High.

Frustrated at the uncooperating piece of machinery, she angrily threw a pillow at the noise maker, hoping to end all interruptions and get a few more minutes of quiet time. Eventually she'll begin preparing for another pointless day.

Although it might seem strange, for a while now Gelna's morning 'Ritual' has been a necessity. To put it lightly, she HATES school, so an extra five or ten minutes of relaxation or sleep after the first time she wakes up allows her to mentally prepare. Her mother knows and understands, which is why she allows the girl her time alone instead of waking her up personally.

When the time does come, she throws her covers off of her body and stretches for a bit. She grabs her robe and heads for the bathroom to take a shower. The 20 minutes seem to fly by, but she forces herself from under the soothing hot water and back to her bedroom to get dressed. She wore a black and blue flanel shirt with a pair of curve-hugging, black skinny jeans and black uggs. She put her wavy, black hair in a low ponytail and put on her blue superman baseball cap. By the time she was done, she just barely avoided her mother's usual "It's almost 7:30" yell from the kitchen as she made breakfast. As she walks down the hall, she can smell the delicious aroma of the feast that's been prepared.

When she enters the kitchen she sees Ivy Jones standing over the stove making scrambled eggs. On the table are two bowls of fruit salad, toast, bacon and a pitcher of orange juice. Gelna had a seat as her mom greeted her. "Morning baby. How'd you sleep?"

"Morning mom. Okay I guess." She said between sips of juice. "Mom, I appreciate it, but you didn't have to do all this. I know you're probably tired after that extra shift last night."

Ivy smiled. In addition to owning an operating an antique shop, the 40-year old also works as a manager at a local grocery store called '3Bs' or 'Browse-Buy-Bag' to provide her and her daughter with a more steady income. Gelna was proud to run the shop after school, and had done so since from the age of 16. Although the business would hardly qualify as a good investment, it was cherished by the small family as such.

They lived in an apartment above the establishment created 50 years prior by Ivy's mother Augustine, a historian of sorts. The woman had a real love for ancient culture and mythology: Egyptian, Roman, Greek, you name it. Her vast knowledge is what kept her loyal customers coming back. Sometimes they'd simply come in to talk to her about the items she had in the store or bring in their own belongings and ask Augustine for any information on the piece or pieces. Ivy however had other passions, so she never really followed in her mother'footsteps, nor did she feel she did an adequate job in her role as owner.

At one point she'd almost considered selling the store space and moving herself and her daughter into what she considered to be "a real house." Someplace where her daughter could play and have a better childhood than she had doing nothing but staying upstairs watching TV and playing alone while her mother worked hours on end to bring home just barely enough to put food on the table. However, guilt overpowered shame. And she knew that she had an obligation to her mother to carry out her legacy as long as she possibly could. It was the least she could do considering the older woman currently resided in a nursing home, her health deteriorating as a result of a stroke she'd suffered some years earlier.

"Mom…you okay?" Gelna asked, breaking her mother from her reverie.

Ivy blinked rapidly as if she was just awakening from a trance. "Oh, I'm sorry sweetheart." She finished the eggs, thanking god they hadn't burnt by now. "I'm never too tired for you." She said as she put the eggs on two plates and walked to the table. She placed one plate in front of Gelna and sat the other down on her placemat. She kissed her daughter's forehead and then had a seat.

Gelna smiled at her mother's words and began eating. Ivy took a few bites of her breakfast and spoke again. "How do you feel about your schedule this term?"

Gelna rolled her eyes a bit. "I know what you really mean, mom. 'How do I feel about so many difficult classes?' It is was it is. At least these credits will get me out of here, and with honors. Soon I'll be saying 'hello graduation, and bye-bye Lima.'" She said with an enthusiastic smile.

Ivy smiled as well. "I'm so proud of you sweetie. And I know your-" She stopped herself and focused on eating before she continued. An unreadable expression appeared on her face, a cross between sadness and anger.

The teenager noticed. "It's okay to mention dad, mom. You were going to, right?"

Ivy looked sadly at her daughter. "Yes. I know he would've been so proud of the young adult you've become."

Gelna smiled at her mom and reached out to hold her hand.

After a couple of minutes spent eating, she caught a glimse of the time on the hallway clock. It was nearly a quarter to 8. "Oh! Sorry mom, I've got to get going before I'm late for homeroom."

Ivy nodded. "Of course, baby. First impressions are very important. Have a great day." She began gathering the plates.

Gelna was headed for the stairs to get her backpack, but abruptly stopped and turned to look at her mom. She went back to the table and gave Ivy a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, mom." She smiled.

The woman returned the kiss. "I love you too, baby."

After putting on her coat and swarf, and double-checking to make sure she had everything she needed for school, the 17-year old left the house and unlocked the door to her '86 Corolla. Although it might not look like much to some, she loved the car. Her mom had given her the money to buy it over Christmas break and for the last few days she's driven it like crazy.

She smiled and got inside. She put on her seatbelt and adjusted the mirror before playfully flicking her orange fuzzy dice, another new ritual of hers. She started the ignition and backed out of the driveway.

After a minutes of driving, she arrived at school. She pulled into the large parking lot, observing the numerous faces as people headed inside of the building, while she continued scanning through the rows of parked cars in search of a free space. When she turned up empty yet again, she began getting frustrated and headed for the opposite end of the parking lot. She rolled her eyes when she noticed an available spot in the last row. 'Now I have to walk all the way back with only 5 minutes before homeroom. Great.' She thought, annoyed at the unpleasant turn of events.

She parked and gathered her belongings before exiting the car.

As she headed through the parking lot, she was so consumed by her quest to make it to class on time that she hadn't noticed the green-eyed boy sitting on the steps in front of the school, watching her intently as she passed him and entered the building.

She went to her locker and began transferring books as the warning bell rang. She knew that she still had to find her classroom, so she hurried at her locker, and rushed up the stairwell to the third floor. She rapidly looked back from her schedule to the passing classroom numbers until she finally found Room 312. She opened the door just as the curly-haired teacher finished calling her name. He turned and looked at her. "Gelna Jones?"

She was suddenly bombarded by the stares of her new classmates.

Shyly she answered. "Yes…But I go by Mercedes."

AUTHOR'S NOTE (A/N): More to come! Since the plot is so different I wanted to start off with a preview as a general idea of what to expect from the story. Let me know what you think :)