I never thought it would end this way for Will Schuster.
It's not clear exactly what went down after Tina, Artie and Blaine finally graduated. According to Coach Beiste, who watched most of it go down from the sidelines of Mr. Schue's life, New Directions was never as good as it used to be after that. And by the time the horrendous Sugar Motta (who I think I see from the corner of my eye telling everyone how Mr. Schue's rejection made her a star), Shelby's glee club became the best in the state, better than Vocal Adrenaline ever was. I talked to my birth mother earlier, she says that the whole thing ruined Mr. Schue. I think she blames herself for his death.
To continue with the story, Principal Figgins was promoted to superintendent and Sue Sylvester became principal for the second time in McKinley High history. Her first act was to get rid of New Directions, hire Holly Holliday as a second Spanish teacher, and give Shelby a raise. Coach Sylvester was going to destroy Mr. Schue. She asked April Rhodes to be the new drama teacher and donated money to city so they could open a new Sheets N Things, as long as Terri owned the store. She also required Will to have psychiatric evaluations with Miss Pillsbury every Thursday. That was the final straw and Mr. Schue overdosed on pain killers. It was an accident, but lots of people say it was on purpose. I don't believe that story, Mr. Schue would never take his own life.
You see, by that time Mr. Schue and Miss Pillsbury had already broken up and people think having to see her killed him inside. Currently Miss Pillsbury is happily married to her ex-therapist, Joe or John something, who helped her get rid of her OCD while Mr. Schue was obsessing over glee club. Now they have a 4 year old daughter named Kristen, who Finn and I met earlier. She's an adorable little girl and very smart for her age. I wonder if she knows what's going on right now. Does she know Mr. Schue is dead?
I've seen a lot of people I haven't seen in a long time here, like that braggart Sugar Motta. I got a chance to see Matt Rutherford at the funeral home, he's doing good. I bumped into Sunshine Corazon at the airport, and we had a little heart to heart, even after all I've done to her over the years. I'm pretty sure I saw my old lover and current nemesis Jesse St. James come to pay his respects, but I have no intention of talking to him after our rocky relationship. It would only make Finn jealous.
I can see Sam right now too, I've always wondered what happened to him. It appears that his dad got a better job and he's used some of the money his parents earned to move back to town and become the new Titans football coach. I think he'll do well. Quinn is with him now, sobbing into his shoulder. At least Mr. Schue's death brought Quam back together.
Quinn and I have become better friends over the years. I feel sorry for her. She went back to her normal self after graduation and married Puck, but that didn't last. Puck and her went their separate ways and Beth, who Quinn had tried to keep in contact with, turned into a "bad seed". Currently Beth lives with Puck, Puck's new wife, Imara, (a girl he met at a hardware store in Fort Wayne) and Puck's one year old son, Ryder. Quinn came to New York when that happened and met up with Finn and I. I visit Lima, the town I never wanted to come back to, to see her all the time. Some of our other friends still live here too, like Mike and Tina.
Kurt and Blaine followed us to New York City. Blaine is a music teacher and Kurt works for a fashion magazine. (His connections to several Broadway stars, like Mercedes and myself, have made him a major editor and somewhat wealthy.) They're married now and adopted a baby. They named him Dalton after where they met. I think that's so romantic and I love my little nephew to death.
Mercedes and I have maintained a friendship which I think is much stronger than it ever was in high school. Mercedes starred in several Broadway productions like Rent and The Color Purple. She was going to be in a revival of The Wiz, but had to take some time off to come to Mr. Schue's funeral. I admire her and what she's become.
Mr. Schue's funeral is the most depressing thing I've ever seen in my life. The last time I was at a funeral, no one was wearing the traditional funeral colors but here everything and everyone is covered in black. So many people have shown up, that we don't have enough chairs. The Glee kids are sitting besides the coffin with Mr. Schue's family, being comforted by the attendees. People that used to hate me are offering me a shoulder to cry on and expressing their condolences. I feel like crying, but I try to hold it back so my daughter doesn't have to see.
Speaking of Charity, I had my daughter two years ago and I love her so much. Her full name is Charity Piper Hudson. I've had to take some time off from my Broadway career (I starred in several performances after college) but taking care of her is a full time occupation in itself. I'm perfectly happy with the life Finn and I have. It's comfortable and I've finally made it in New York.
Some of the other Glee members have kids as well. Santana and Brittany adopted a baby girl, Allison, after college. Santana told me they spent their college years in a sorority for lesbian women, rallying for gay rights. A lot of the US states have recently legalized gay marriage because of them, including Ohio. Mike and Tina have two kids, real sweeties they are, and Artie is married with a kid too. His wife wasn't able to come, but Artie showed me a picture of her and their son. Artie says her name is Edie. She looks rather cute and it sounds like she has a charming personality from what Artie's told me about her. Artie's now a doctor, he said it because of all the doctors did for him to help him try to walk again. He's now using that ReWalk he got his sophomore year full time.
"Well, I like to think the lack of a star influence really led to Will's downfall. If he had gone to LA to mentor me like I asked, maybe he wouldn't have overdosed." Jesse St. James is saying to yet another reporter.
Finn and I are definitely not happy that he's here. Jesse obviously isn't here to honor Mr. Schue's memory, he either wants to hit on me or get publicity. Jesse's recently gone back to Los Angeles after flunking out of UCLA and is on some dumb soap opera where he plays the evil twin of some doctor, or something like that. Puck says he'll beat Jesse up for me, but I know this isn't the time or place. It's not like Jesse can flirt with me anyway, I'm a married mother and nothing will change that.
I'm actually kind of surprised that Coach Sylvester showed up, yet I'm sort of not at the same time. In her black track suit, she's telling everyone stories of her favorite times annoying Mr. Schue and her best plans to destroy glee club. At first I didn't want her here, she ruined Mr. Schue's life, but she's mourning him just like everyone else. Only in her own way. Tina even told me that she talked about Mr. Schue's life on Sue's Corner right after he died. Now I've accepted that somewhere, deep down, Sue does care.
The truth is, everyone here really loved Mr. Schue for different reasons. He was our teacher, our mentor, he was a friend and a confidant, and he was a father figure. We're all going to miss him.
Finn squeezed my hand. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah," I managed to whisper back. "This has just really made me think. For all of us, the end is going to come sooner or later. We have to make the most of it. I've been talking to Kurt and…I want us all to move back to Lima."
"Really? What about your job?"
"I don't need to go back on Broadway, Finn. I have everything I could possibly need. And Kurt's magazine wants to start a new branch in another city, so he could head an issue in Cincinnati or something. I just really want to live my life while I still can."
"You're right. Life is about family. And Lima is where our family is. We're moving back here."
"Thanks Finn."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
I know I'm not going to regret my choice to come back to Lima. Everyone I love is here. My family, my friends, and my memories. I can't think of a better place for Charity to grow up, surrounded by people who love her.
And after all, for everyone, the end comes eventually. You just have to enjoy life while you can.
-Rachel B. Berry
