Ohio, 8 years later…
The steel press buzzed with activity, as usual. These days, anyone was glad to be in a job, so machine operators were going double speed, and almost everyone had their heads bent down in concentration, engrossed in the task ahead. It was almost intimidating.
The foreman paced around from station to station with a bite in his step.
A young female worker jerked her head in his direction. "What's Mr Tanaka's problem today? He's fuming!"
The woman beside her threw her eyes to heaven. "I hear he's got an eye for Shelby Corcoran over there. No way he'll get his way with her."
"Shelby better watch out with that creep or she'll find herself out on the streets without a job!"
The younger woman sighed, holding her head in her hands. "Who knows what to think anymore?"
"At the end of the day you're another day older
And that's all you can say for the life of the poor
It's a struggle, it's a war
And there's nothing that anyone's giving
One more day standing about, what is it for?
One day less to be living."
The heat of the furnaces raged, and Shelby, a pretty young woman with long dark hair and an innocent face, tended to her tasks ahead, avoiding Mr Tanaka's lingering eye. She hated that hungry look about him, and his sly, wandering hands.
"At the end of the day you're another day colder
And the shirt on your back doesn't keep out the chill
And the righteous hurry past
They don't hear the little ones crying
And the winter is coming on fast, ready to kill
One day nearer to dying!"
The mail room boy hurried through with his trolley, dropping off his messages as he scurried by. He was wise enough to know how not to get in the way. An envelope was thrown onto Shelby workstation, and she groaned immediately, knowing just what it would contain. Just another reminder of how much she needed this damn job.
"At the end of the day there's another day dawning
And the sun in the morning is waiting to rise
Like the waves crash on the sand
Like a storm that'll break any second
There's a hunger in the land
There's a reckoning still to be reckoned and
There's gonna be hell to pay
At the end of the day!"
"What's that you have there, Shelby?" smirked a girl across her workstation. "I hope it's not a love letter?"
Before Shelby could begin to stammer up some sort of excuse, the letter was snatched from her hands.
"Dear Shelby," read a worker behind her, holding up the letter just out Shelby's reach, "We need more money. Your child is very sick and we can't afford to bring her to the hospital…"
Shelby dived at the taller woman, knocking her to the floor, the contents of the workstation flying in every direction.
"That's none of your business!" she cried, wrestling to grab the piece of paper from the woman's clutches.
At this stage, every worker was on their feet – some cheering and jeering, others just watching awestruck. A tall, curly haired man stepped forward from their midst. He was a little greyer and sharper since he had stepped out of Mississippi Prison Farm eight years ago, but there was no mistaking Will Shuester. Or rather Mr Shue, as he was now known.
"Alright, alright, settle down!" he cried out, "This is a business we're running here! Not a wrestling ring!"
The women pulled apart at the sight of the prestigious owner, and hurriedly smoothed down their hair and clothes.
"Don't worry about it, sir!" Mr Tanaka announced with fake cheer, "Let me take care of this."
Will nodded curtly, and went on his way. He had more important business to attend to.
Mr Tanaka turned back to the disorderly women with that starved look in his eyes again. "Now, who wants to tell me what's going on here?"
The woman, still firmly holding onto Shelby's letter, cleared her throat. "Shelby dived at me, sir, anyone her can vouch. And on top of all that, she's hiding a child! Paying some bartender to look after her, so I think we can all guess what she's moonlighting as…"
The rest of the room exchanged urgent glances.
"The father abandoned us, that doesn't make me a slut!" cried Shelby, rising to her own defense. "The bartender is caring for her until I can provide for her myself!"
"Ah, Shelby Corcoran. What act are you playing now?" Tanaka grinned maliciously, "Whore on the shore, or virgin on the rocks?"
She stared down at the floor, her cheeks burning.
"Pack your things and leave, Ms Corcoran. This isn't a haven for sluts."
His words were met with sniggers and whispers and Shelby had to do her best to settle her breath.
"Y-yes, sir."
With that, she was gone, sprinting through the steel mill with only one thought on her mind – her baby.
Shelby added another miserable lump to her watery cup of coffee. The rain lashed against the windows of the small café, and she couldn't find the strength inside her to get up and leave. She had been sitting there with the same cup of coffee for three hours, but it wasn't as though she had somewhere better to be. Her landlord would be looking for the rent, and she hadn't a spare dollar to hand over.
Shelby never imagined her life to end up this way. As a young girl, she had so many dreams, so many hopes for the future. But as she soon discovered, her dreams were nothing but teasing images, constant reminders of a life she'd never have.
"There was a time when men were kind
When their voices were soft
And their words inviting
There was a time when love was blind
And the world was a song
And the song was exciting
There was a time
Then it all went wrong"
"I dreamed a dream in time gone by
When hope was high
And life worth living
I dreamed that love would never die
I dreamed that God would be forgiving
Then I was young and unafraid
And dreams were made and used and wasted
There was no ransom to be paid
No song unsung, no wine untasted"
The waitress tapped her gently on the shoulder. "Sorry, honey. It's closing time."
Shelby stood up from the table, digging deep into her pockets to source her last couple of quarters and laid them down on the table.
Stepping out into the night, Shelby welcomed the rain. It enveloped her, numbed her down. Clothes clinging to her frame and hair drenched onto her face, she set off into the darkness.
"But the tigers come at night
With their voices soft as thunder
As they tear your hope apart
And they turn your dream to shame"
"He slept a summer by my side
He filled my days with endless wonder
He took my childhood in his stride
But he was gone when autumn came"
"And still I dream he'll come to me
That we will live the years together
But there are dreams that cannot be
And there are storms we cannot weather"
"I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living
So different now from what it seemed
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed."
She had to find a way for her baby girl.
She had to find a way for her little Rachel.