So this story has been in my head for a while and I thought I'd write out this chapter and see if there was any response before I continued.
It is un-beta'd so try and ignore any errors as best you can
Let me know what you think!
Quick story summary:
Rachel Berry has moved to William McKinley Academy for her senior year, a boarding school situated three hours away from Lima Ohio. The Academy offers more prestigious performing arts courses and Rachel believes that the classes on offer will better her chances at being accepted by NYADA. However, after being assigned a room with Santana Lopez, and befriending both Quinn Fabray and Brittany S. Pierce, she soon realises that she signed up for a whole lot more than a reputable musical program.
Apprehension. That's probably the only word that could accurately convey how Rachel was feeling right now. They'd been in the car for a little over two and a half hours and according to the multitude of map print outs she was clutching in her hand they had about 30 minutes to go until they concluded their trip, or in her case, begun it. She let out a small sigh of trepidation, which caused her dad Leroy to glance at her reassuringly in the revision mirror and her daddy Hiram to turn around in the passenger seat so he was facing her.
"You know Rae, we are most definitely not forcing you to do this. If you don't feel comfortable once we get there we can head straight back home, you know that East Lima High would welcome back one of their top honor students with open arms", Hiram offered, squeezing her knee comfortingly.
Rachel smiled at the mention of her honor roll status. She was definitely at the top of her academic game back at East Lima High however she knew that at this new school, the work would be more challenging. That really didn't matter though, that's why her and her fathers had decided to move her for the duration of her senior year, for a challenge. East Lima High's academic and artistic status were fairly sound, however this new school's academic and musical courses were highly reputable. If she wanted to attain a spot at NYADA then she had to have access to the resources, and with the wide variety of performing arts programs on offer at William McKinley Academy, she was certainly one step closer to accomplishing her goal.
"I know daddy, I'm just a little bit nervous about the whole boarding aspect. I know I've spent time away from you two before however sleeping somewhere else from Monday to Friday every week is certainly going to take some getting use to" she reasoned, scrunching up the bundle of papers in her hand and stuffing them securely in to the side pocket of her bag.
"You're permitted to come home any weekend you want, either Hiram or I can come to collect you on Friday evening or on Saturday morning and bring you back on Sunday. And when I spoke to the Principal directly she did mention that the school had a fair few students from the Lima area who have cars on campus, so once you settle in you'll most probably be able to car pool with them on the weekends" Leroy added with a grin.
Rachel acceptingly nodded at this, signalling to both of her fathers that she had somewhat settled down. She rested her head lightly against the car window, shifting her focus to the sign that came in to view up the road. As the vehicle grew closer Rachel was able to distinctly recognise the words emblazoned across the sandstone block. 'William McKinley Academy' the sign read, and that's all it took for the apprehension the brunette had diminished minutes before to build right back up again.
Leroy turned the car left as they passed the sign, cautiously steering through the fashioned gates that bordered the perimeter of the campus. All three of them expelled a small gasp as they took in their surroundings. They'd of course had a thorough snoop at all of the photos provided on the website and in the prospectus, but as they'd never visited for an official tour this was the first time they were physically seeing the school.
Luscious green trees lined the stone road that lead to the main building in the distance and sets of dark green lampposts further adorned the drive. Rachel felt like complete royalty for a moment and she made a point in her head that she'd most definitely have to thank her fathers again once she was able to properly formulate a sentence. All she was able to do at the moment however was stare, so that's what she did. She craned her neck between the front seats, ogling the main building as they approached a set of car spaces. As Leroy put the car in to park, both Rachel and Hiram simultaneously pounced out of their seats and swung open their doors. Towering before them was an amazingly elegant structure, and the only comparison Rachel could make was that the building resembled a largely scaled colonial home.
"Are you ready to do this Rae?" Leroy questioned, moving towards her with her luggage in hand. Rachel excitedly nodded at this, hoisting her sports bag up to her shoulder before following her dad and daddy inside.
The main foyer was even more grandiose, the marble floor looking perfectly pristine and the glass chandeliers dangling graciously from the high ceiling. Rachel tore her gazing eyes away from the lights and headed over to her parents who were busy introducing themselves to the main receptionist.
"I'm Ms. Bates, but most of the senior students just call me by my first name which is Jane", the woman kindly offered.
"I'm Rachel Berry and it's an absolute pleasure to meet you" she beamed, taking in the woman's appearance. She looked to be in her thirties and had her auburn hair hoisted up in a well-kept bun. She had a few soft freckles that lined her lightly tanned skin and a pair of sleek black glasses that coincided nicely with her slim fitting dress.
Jane reciprocated the grin, almost letting a small chuckle escape her lips at the younger girl's enthusiasm.
"Well Rachel, your head of house will be up here in a moment to take you down to the dorm circle and show you to your boarding house. According to the system you've been placed in Wentworth and you're in a double room with…Santana Lopez" she finished with a snort.
"What's so hilarious about my rooming situation?" She hurriedly questioned, the light smirk ghosting the receptionists lips eliciting a bit of worry.
"Oh no nothing", Jane quickly reassured, "It's just that I'm pretty friendly with a lot of the senior students as I help out in the boarding houses some evenings and they often hang around here to talk. I was just laughing about something regarding Santana, your roommate, but I have no doubts that she'll fill you in as soon as the two of you meet".
Rachel wasn't quite content with that vague response and was about to continue her questioning until another door lightly swung open and an older lady walked towards them.
"You must be Rachel," the woman politely noted, offering her hand to the brunette.
Rachel promptly shook the outstretched hand as the woman continued her introduction. "I'm Mrs Hunt and I'm the boarding parent for Wentworth house and I'm also one of the history teachers here at the school".
"It's lovely to meet you Mrs Hunt, these are my two fathers Hiram and Leroy Berry" she responded, raising her hand and motioning to the two men stationed beside her.
Rachel offered Jane a quick farewell wave as she followed Mrs Hunt through the doorway she had just entered from and down the long corridor to the back exit of the building.
"So I'll take you straight down to the dorm circle where the boarding houses are situated and that way your dads can put down all your luggage and take a look at where you'll be living for the majority of this year. There are four senior boarding houses on the campus, these consisting of Harper and Wentworth, which are the girls' dorms and then Parkes and Becton, which are the boys' dorms. Each house holds around twenty or so students so there are about 10 double bedrooms along with a common lounge area, dining room, kitchen and laundry. Luckily enough in the senior houses there are bathrooms located between each dorm so you're only sharing between four girls rather than the whole floor. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are all served up in the main dining room however with the kitchen provided in your house you can of course cook additional meals or just cook for yourself over the weekend if you choose to stay in. Of course driving home-".
Rachel was trying to take in everything Mrs Hunt was saying but to be honest it was quite a lot to absorb and right now she was captivated by the rest of the campus. After they had exited the main building they'd been escorted down a stone path that resembled the main entrance of the school. There was an open grassy quad area surrounded by trees and benches and Rachel could only assume that this was an area used for free study classes or lunches. Further down the path they passed a few building blocks that contained classrooms, one particular building having caught her eye as it had 'WMA Performing Arts Centre' labelled on the sign.
As they reached the end of the pathway, Mrs Hunt paused and turned around to face her.
"And here we have the senior houses" Mrs Hunt noted, wavering her hand behind her.
Rachel poked her head to the side and took in what had previously been addressed as the 'dorm circle'. There was another large quad area, a smaller car park area and four houses, two at either end of the main quad and each resembling smaller models of the schools main building. The two houses to the left of the quad had signs marked 'Harper'and 'Wentworth' so Rachel gathered that they were the girls' dorms. And the two to the right of the quad were marked 'Parkes' and 'Becton' meaning those were the boys' dorms.
"This is incredible," she stated appreciatively, shooting thankful glances towards both of her fathers.
"How about we get you settled in?" Mrs Hunt suggested, beckoning the three of them to follow her towards Wentworth.
Rachel noted that the house was even more impressive up close. It was painted a very light yellow and the deck that bordered the structure was a smooth white. There were crisply cut hedges lining the small front lawn and from what Rachel could gather there was also a small social deck area out the back.
"So this is the keypad to the right of the door. Each of the boarding houses has one of these, all with different codes of course. At the moment the code is 2109 so make sure to write that down somewhere so you don't forget however the code changes after each holiday period".
Rachel nodded in response to this before following Mrs Hunt in to the foyer, holding the door open for her fathers who were now both lugging her suitcases along.
"Okay so this is it" her house parent motioned.
"You have the main lounge room to your left and the dining room to your right. The kitchen is off the dining room and the laundry is off the room next to the main stairs here," she informed, pointing to the stairway situated in front of them. "And then there are doors leading out to the back decking area through the lounge room. The girls' tend to lounge around in the sun out there in the afternoons".
"I do have to add in that these boarding houses are even more impressive than the photographs of them on the website" Hiram exclaimed.
"I wouldn't mind living here that's for sure," Leroy added in with a chuckle.
"Yes well the girls' certainly have a lot of fun and they enjoy their space here", Mrs Hunt agreeably stated with a laugh before leading them up the stairs.
The house was three stories tall and the bedrooms were situated on the second and third levels of the house. There were 5-6 bedrooms on each floor and luckily for Rachel her bedroom was on the second floor at the end of the corridor. 'Room 205' she noted in her head.
Mrs Hunt swung open the door and ushered each of them inside. The room was surprisingly spacious with a bed at either end, a desk along the two opposing walls and a large set of drawers for each of the occupants.
"There are two doors here in the entry corridor on either side of the bedroom door and these are built in wardrobes," the older woman pointed out.
Rachel continued to snoop around the room, peering out the large window frame at the grassy area alongside the house. She had a slight view of the boarders' car park and noticed that there were a few cars pulling up.
"Okay so I'll leave you three to it. Most of the students tend to arrive on campus at 2 or 3pm but a lot of the seniors don't roll in until the early evening. Dinner is at 6:30pm in the dining hall however there's no need for you to worry about that as Santana will be here before then to guide you around" Mrs Hunt warmly assured. "It was a pleasure to meet you Hiram as well as you Leroy and I'm sure I'll see you or speak to you both soon, don't have any hesitation in contacting me" she offered, shaking both of their hands before closing the bedroom door and heading back down the corridor.
"Wow" Leroy announced.
"Wow is correct" Hiram emphasised.
"Wow is most definitely correct" Rachel gushed, spinning on her heels before rushing forward and pulling both of her fathers in to a tight embrace. "Thankyou thankyou thankyou so much" she reiterated, trying to accentuate how grateful she was feeling.
"Do you want the two of us to hang around whilst you unpack or we can even hang around until your roommate gets here if you'd like?" Leroy suggested.
A broad smile crept up Rachel's face as she released the two men and took a step back.
"To be honest I think I'm completely fine. I have a good feeling about this place and the campus is just amazing and I think I'll be alright unpacking on my own" she explained.
The two men shared a knowing glance before pulling their daughter back in for a tight hug and offering her there farewells, even if it was for just under a week.
Rachel's fathers' had left just over an hour ago and so far she had managed to sort out her toiletries and unpack all of her clothing, not that there was much of it considering she had to wear a uniform during the school day which would take some getting use to. She pulled the last few things out of her suitcases before zipping them up and placing them in the base of her wardrobe.
The brunette smiled contently as she headed over to her neatly made bed and began to unravel her show posters. She gathered the small pack of pins she had tucked away in her sports bag and neatly pinned up the three posters she had, each of these being 'Funny Girl', 'Rent' and 'Wicked'.
The smaller girl took a step back, admiring her handy work before picking up the frame that contained a photo of her and her parents. Just as she was about to place it down on the small bedside table however she was made aware of a commotion outside in the corridor. It sounded like a whole lot of yelling and just before she had time to peek her head out of the room to investigate what was going on, the door flew open at lightening speed.
"Who the hell are you?" The girl who came barging in exclaimed, pointing questioningly at Rachel.
"Uhhh, I'm, hello, my name is-". In that instant a blonde girl came bounding through the door after who she could only assume was Santana.
"San what on earth do you think you are doing?" The blonde queried with a pout, latching on to the other girls arm.
"I thought Jane was kidding around when she said there was a room change Britt! I didn't actually think they were going to follow through with separating us this year!"
Rachel didn't know what to do; her feet felt as though they were glued straight to the floor.
'Should I apologise or should I continue introducing myself?' she thought to herself worriedly.
She took the moment to look at the two girls standing before her. Santana was the slightest bit taller than her with dark raven coloured hair and tanned skin. And the way she was starting to rant on in Spanish gave away that she must have been from Spanish decent. The other girl who Santana had called 'Britt' was a bit taller again with soft blonde hair, fair skin and what Rachel recognised as an incredibly sweet smile.
She continued to watch the two girls in front of her before being snapped out of her trance by the impatient sound of Santana's voice.
"S-sorry what did you say?" she apologised.
Santana rolled her eyes at this before repeating her previous sentence.
"I said, I'm sorry about riling up at you like that, I'm just use to rooming with Britt every year".
At the mention of her name, the blonde immediately piped up, taking a step toward Rachel and pulling her into a warm embrace.
"I'm Brittany S. Pierce but you can call me Britt if you want. You look super cute and small and cuddly and I can tell we're going to become super fast friends!" She excitedly rushed out, releasing the smaller girl from her grasp.
Rachel beamed back at Brittany, finding her outright friendliness very endearing.
"My name is Rachel Berry, future Broadway star!" she animatedly replied.
Santana cracked a smile at this before stepping forward and offering her hand to the smaller girl.
"And I'm Santana, better known as Satan Lopez" she stated, a smirk playing at the corners of her lips.
Rachel's smile slightly faltered at this and the second Brittany noticed she interjected.
"Oh don't listen to her Rach, she really is just a big softy. She's just a little cranky because now we can't get our sweet lady-".
Brittany's sentence was abruptly cut off as Santana cupped her hand over the blonde's mouth. Rachel wasn't sure what the other girl was about to say but to appease the tension she decided to continue on with conversation.
"May I ask why the two of you are no longer permitted to room together?" she asked curiously.
Santana averted her gaze at this, trying not to meet Rachel's eagre stare. She was in no way ashamed of her sexuality however she didn't want to make Rachel uncomfortable.
"There were quite a few noise complaints," Brittany nonchalantly stated.
This confused Rachel even further so she pressed on.
"As in the two of you enjoy blaring your music at a ridiculous volume?"
Santana released a soft laugh at the smaller girl's naivety.
"No silly as in we like adjusting each others plumbing!" Brittany declared as though it was the most logical explanation in the world.
Rachel furrowed her eyebrows at this, completely perplexed and still unsure of what the blonde was trying to get at.
"We have sex, we're dating and we have sex!" Santana suddenly burst out. "And if you have a problem with that concept then you better tell me right now!"
Rachel's jaw should have dropped to the floor at this revelation. I mean both Brittany and Santana were very attractive and she just never would have pegged them as lesbians. But despite this, the brunette knew better than to judge someone based on his or her appearance so instead her lips curled up in huge smile. She stepped back towards her bed and picked up the photo frame that she had dropped upon hearing the earlier commotion.
"These are my parents, Hiram and Leroy Berry. I was raised by two gay men so despite the fact that you may have thought that I wasn't comfortable with your sexuality, I most definitely am. I am one hundred and one percent at ease with all aspects of an LGBT lifestyle, in fact at my old school, East Lima High, I tried to organise a 'GayLes Ball', which admittedly didn't pan out but I have always been taught that it's the thought and effort that count."
"Well, we definitely appreciate your openness Berry" Santana offered with a nod.
"I'm super sad that I can't room with Sanny but at the same time I'm super happy that she gets to room with someone as cool as you Rach" Brittany added in chirpily.
"Speaking of roommates Britt, has Q got her fine ass here yet?"
"I was too busy running after you that I didn't even check to see if she was in our room. We're just in 204 though so we are sharing a bathroom and we're only like two doors away," the blonde explained.
"Alright well let's head out and check," the Latina decided, turning on her heel and pulling Brittany out the door. Rachel stood back in the room watching the two of them leave before Santana spun back around to face her.
"Aren't you coming Berry?" she asked with an inviting smile.
"Oh yes of course" Rachel responded, trailing out of the room behind the pair.
Room 204 was literally about 4 metres down the hall on the other side of the bathroom and Rachel was thankful that she'd be sharing most of her living space with people she could already call her friends.
There was music emanating from behind the closed door and Rachel figured that the girl must have only missed the earlier yelling due to the fact that her music was playing over Santana's annoyed shrieks. Rachel paused, waiting for the Latina to knock but without a moment of hesitation she just swung the door open and marched in to the room. Brittany bounced through the doorway seconds later so she followed her in, shyly edging in to the room so she didn't intrude too much on the friendly reunion.
Santana had pushed the other girl down on to the bed and now Brittany was squealing and bouncing around the two of them whilst repeatedly declaring, "I'm rooming with you Quinn, I'm rooming with you Quinn!"
Unfortunately Rachel couldn't catch sight of this girl aside from her entangled limbs and wisps of her blonde hair.
"Alright let's give her some air Britt" Santana finally declared, slowly edging off the bed and pulling her two friends up after her.
"Q, this is Rach. She is super cute and tiny and has two gay dads and is from Lima just like the three of us!" Brittany revealed, motioning her hand towards the bedroom door where the brunette was standing. Quinn's head immediately snapped up at this and the smaller brunette recognised that she was clearly unaware that there was additional company in the room. Rachel gulped, hopefully not to noticeably, as she took in Quinn's appearance. She was wearing a tight pair of black gym shorts and a firm fitting navy shirt that was emblazoned with the phrase 'WMA Cheerleading Squad'. The shirt had ridden up slightly revealing a small portion of her well-toned creamy stomach and her slightly tousled hair was falling down around her shoulders. It was her eyes that had Rachel catching the air in her throat though. They were staring at her with such intensity that she felt as though she was going to combust at any given moment. The speckles of gold swirled in with the most shimmering tone of hazel had her completely transfixed and for those few seconds she swore the entire room had melted away around her.
The blonde slowly walked over to her before her soft pink lips quirked up in a warm smile.
"I'm Quinn Fabray, welcome to William McKinley Academy".
Okay so there you have it
Chapter one complete!
Let me know if you want me to keep going with this story and if so I'll start writing another chapter asap