Chapter 3
The week had passed in a fairly quick manner, Rachel had found herself slushied at least once every day in spite of Puck standing up for her to the jocks. The Cheerios were not at all welcoming nor intimidated by Puck so they counted for the bulk of the slushies that stained her clothing. By the time Friday rolled around Rachel was sick and tired of slushies and McKinley. Meeting Puck at her locker she sighed, "Let me change into something that doesn't look like a slushy tie dye project before we do this."
"No problem," Puck grinned at her. "I'll wait for you here."
Rachel smiled slightly and grabbed her third change of clothing, this outfit was marginally more fashionable though hardly what she'd wear if she wasn't worried about iced drinks staining her clothes. A flirty black skirt and a tight teeshirt with an argyle print in purple and aqua with little black lines slicing through the diamonds. Thankfully she'd been keeping her hair up in a ponytail and it hadn't gotten any slushy in it but she'd had to change her stockings to a black pair with silly little smiling flowers winding up them. Taking her hair down was a relief and she groaned as she left the girls room, rubbing her hands over her scalp to ease the residual tension the ponytail had left her.
Puck whistled as she came into the hallway and Rachel couldn't help grinning, his honest appreciation of how she looked was worth a thousand changes of clothing. She just wished she could really wow him and wear some of her more fashionable things. "Hey," She sighed as she moved towards her locker. "Have I said thanks for all the wolf whistles and compliments?"
"No, but you shouldn't hafta," Puck grinned at her. "You're a gorgeous hot little Jewish American Princess, compliments and wolf whistles are kinda your due."
Rachel could feel her cheeks turning red and she stuffed her slushied clothing into her locker to cover her face. "Well thanks just the same," She found herself mumbling. "Nobody's ever… well treated me like a normal girl."
"'Cause you're special," Puck grinned at her. "Why'd you want to be treated normal?"
"Because special usually means little bus or freak," Rachel told him dryly. He was turning out to be a good friend, especially since she and Sam didn't share any classes. "Shall we?" She indicated the choir room, which had already filled up with the glee club.
"Yeah, let's wow 'em," Puck grinned down at her.
Rachel couldn't help grinning back as she pushed open the door, Puck right behind her. The room wasn't exactly buzzing with conversation but a few of the kids were talking together quietly while the director stood at the piano conversing with the accompanist. Then she saw three Cheerios uniforms and two disturbingly familiar faces. One of them had been holding a slushy her first day, the other had been standing beside the slushy. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," She murmured to Puck. Before he could say anything in reply the pretty boy who'd laughed at her called out to Puck.
"Puck this club cannot be your preferred method for getting under a girl's skirts," His soprano voice rang through the air like a piercing bell. "Don't waste our time with her auditioning just so you can get in good with her."
"I'm still trying to figure out why he's even interested," The curvy black girl almost snorted her voice was so derisive.
"She does dress like a toddler trying to be grandma," The pretty boy agreed.
Rachel had begun backing up when the boy, Kurt she remembered Puck had said his name was, began speaking until she'd backed right up against Puck who was still standing behind her. She'd never experienced such vitriol in her life from people who didn't even know her. Her former classmates had been competitive and there was a certain amount of trash talk but they'd all known her, based their insults on whether or not they were going for the same part or solo. This was so harsh and at the same time impersonal, it was hard to believe.
Puck's hands came up and squeezed her upper arms as she retreated back against him, holding her in place so she couldn't move forward but she couldn't escape the choir room either. His voice was hard and angry, a tone she hadn't heard in the week she'd known him and suddenly his reputation as a BAMF made a great deal more sense. "I brought Rachel here so she could audition 'cause she's got a great voice, I told her it would be fun," She could feel the violence coiled up like a dragon inside his ribs, ready to explode outward to the detriment of those he would unleash it upon. "An' if she wants to date me 'ventually that'd be cool but it's up to her. Ain't any a your business. We're friends. I like her. An' if you don' even wanna hear her sing then I'm done with alla ya."
"That's enough out of all of you," Mr. Schuester spoke finally over several loudly phrased objections and rejoinders to Puck's statement. "Puck no one is saying we don't want to hear Rachel sing," He said firmly. "This is Glee, we welcome everyone, regardless," He cast a warning look at the rest of the club. "Now if Rachel will tell Brad what she needs him to play and Puck if you'll take your seat…"
Puck shook his head, "Nah, me an' Rae we been workin' on somethin'," He grinned at the teacher and as Rachel moved hesitantly away from him gave her arm a reassuring squeeze. "Rachel plays the piano so Brad don't gotta worry 'bout the music for us."
"Any other instruments Rachel?" Mr. Schuester asked curiously.
Rachel nodded slowly as she took her seat and ran her fingers over the keys frowning a bit, "Violin, and my brother has been trying to teach me guitar." She admitted quietly.
"Doncha need the music?" A tall boy whose legs were stretched out into the practice space asked curiously. He was good looking in a wholesome way but his smile didn't have any particular self-awareness, or much awareness at all for that matter.
Rachel shook her head, "I have it memorized." She and Puck shared a smile as he stripped off his jacket and threw it and his bag over a chair. "You ready?" She asked him quietly.
"Yeah, warmed up like you showed me earlier," Puck replied just as quietly standing near the piano so he could look down at her and sing.
She grinned and began to play the intro, waiting for the room to quiet and raised an eyebrow when it didn't. If this group wasn't even respectful enough to give them a modicum of attention for an audition then she wasn't sure she wanted to sing with them. Puck didn't seem to notice so maybe that's how this group always was. Ignoring them Rachel looked up at Puck and sang.
Just like it always did, the music seemed to fill her up, warmth and light and beauty, something only she could create, the piano and her voice and Puck's lovely baritone joining and resounding through the air until they reached the final note. Blinking Rachel couldn't help smiling as she realized Puck was still looking at her, obviously enjoying the music just as much as she did.
The rest of the room had fallen silent sometime during the first verse and slowly when they realized the song was done they began to react. Rachel watched as the oriental girl with streaks in her hair reached over and gently closed the mouth of the boy sitting next to her, a handsome Asian kid with very well defined forearms who she recognized as Mike from calculus. The tall boyishly handsome kid was still gaping at she and Puck while the blonde Cheerio who'd slushied her looked simultaneously annoyed and shocked. The other blonde Cheerio looked thrilled and she was the first to speak. "Oh my god! I love that movie. I totally am going to be Rapunzul for Halloween this year. Puck I didn't know you could sing so well, did you practice this summer? What did you do? Your voice went really high. Can you stretch your voice? How do you stretch your voice?"
"Britt," Puck was shaking his head, "Take a breath doll." He advised with a grin. Rachel smiled slightly and began to stand up from the piano when the black girl Mercedes spoke.
"I guess it's fine for something that's been rehearsed, but what can you do on the fly?" She challenged with a tilt of her head.
"That's true, we tend to have emergencies regarding the set lists," The pretty boy next to her agreed.
Rachel stood, relinquishing the piano bench to the accompanist and moved to stand beside Puck, "Well, do you have something you'd like to hear me sing? I know a lot of Broadway, and I can do anything on Celine or Barbra's albums." She looked at Puck curiously wondering if this was a normal audition. From the scowl on his face directed at the two challengers she would guess not.
"Do you know Katy Perry?" The Cheerio sitting next to the tall boy asked with a skeptical look on her face.
"Not personally," Rachel retorted, "But of course I've heard of her."
"Wide Awake," The pretty boy suggested. "I've got it on my ipod so you can hear it a few times and then give it a try."
Rachel nodded slowly, she'd heard the song on the radio of course, so she knew the melody, "If someone has a laptop and can find me the lyrics I'll read them along with the music." She suggested.
Puck grinned at her and she knew he realized she had an edge she hadn't mentioned, "Gonna slam it aren't ya?" He teased under his breath.
"Yep," She nodded minutely. "I have perfect pitch. Daddy says I'm a savant with music. I just wish Sam were here. I'd like him to hear me sing."
"I'll go get him. He was gonna hit the library while you auditioned," Puck offered.
"Thank you Noah," Rachel smiled up at him and then someone put a laptop in front of her and Puck took off. She smiled at the oriental girl, "Thanks, I tend to remember things better if I read them."
"Me too," The girl grinned. "I'm Tina, and the mouth breather who was sitting next to me is my boyfriend Mike."
"We've met; we have calculus together," Rachel smiled, "Lucky girl. Lucky guy. You two are cute together." She tilted her head, "Your families don't mind?" She was regarded with a blink of surprise that she'd even noticed there might be a potential problem, "Sorry, I just...you're Vietnamese aren't you? And Mike looks Japanese..."
"Oh, no you're totally right," Tina assured her with a confused smile, "You're just the only person who's realized. Everyone else seems to think if we both have slanty eyes then we're alike."
"That attitude does not fly in Chinatown or little Japan up in Chicago," Rachel rolled her eyes as she read the lyrics. "And don't dare call a Puerto Rican a Mexican 'cause then there's blood."
"Is it strange I find that comforting?" Tina grinned outright, "That other cultures are just as crazy as mine?" She explained after a minute.
Rachel shook her head, "I'm Jewish so I totally get it, I have a grandmother who thinks the world will end if I don't eventually marry a nice Jewish boy."
"Well Puck fulfills two out of three," Tina commented with a smirk. When Rachel blinked at her, Tina counted off on her fingers, "He's Jewish, and he's a boy...not exactly nice."
Rachel grinned wickedly, "I never bothered to tell my grandmother that most of the nice boys I've met were kinda boring." Tina giggled along with her and then Kurt began to play the song so most of the conversation in the room stopped.
Puck shoved the door to the room open so hard it almost hit the wall, Sam on his heels, "Did we miss it?" He asked half way into Kurt's first play through of the song. "Oh good," He pointed Sam to a chair in the front row and moved to hang out with Rachel at the piano again. One hand absently tugged at Tina's hair teasingly before he rested his chin on top of Rachel's head to read the lyrics over her head. "Song's kinda deep," He observed and was hushed by Kurt.
"Hmm..." Rachel pushed her elbow into his ribs to get him off her head. "Noah that's not good for my spine, you are a hundred pounds heavier than I am."
To his credit Puck moved his chin from her head to her shoulder before he realized Sam was glaring at him, "Shit, Sam's gonna fuckin' kill me." He muttered.
"He'd better not," Rachel said from between barely moving lips, supposedly still listening to the song. "You're my best friend. I'd miss you."
"Yeah?" Puck smiled, "Good. Then I can come hang out with you after school?"
"If you want," Rachel agreed with a smile. She closed the laptop and thanked Tina quietly once the song had ended.
"Need to hear it again?" Kurt offered pausing his playlist.
"No, I've got it." Rachel smiled, "Thanks though." She looked at the accompanist, "Brad? Will you be able to give me the melody?"
"Not with only one play through," The sandy haired man admitted.
"I know the music Rae," Sam offered from the front row. "It ain't hard, just not meant for piano ya know?" He looked at the pianist. "Just need someone to lend me a guitar."
"Here," A slender boy in a wheelchair rolled forward from the side of the risers holding a red electric guitar, Artie, Puck's other friend in their calculus class. He'd been so quiet at the edge of the risers Rachel hadn't noticed him. "Try this out."
"Damn nice axe," Sam exclaimed with a grin. "Shit Rae, if I knew it involved guitars this nice I mighta tried out myself."
"You're welcome to if you'd like," Mr. Schuester said quietly. "Also Rachel, I want you to know, you've already made it. Even if this song doesn't go perfectly you obviously have a voice that is worth hearing."
"That's very kind of you to say sir," Rachel smiled politely. He might be the director of the club but she hadn't forgotten he'd seen her get slushied and done nothing about it.
"Here Rachel," The bubbly blonde Cheerio Puck had called Britt picked something up from one of the cabinets and handed it to her; a microphone. "It's got voice effects, for the echo at the beginning," She explained.
Rachel grinned and nodded, "Guess I'm set then." She moved away from the piano and Puck's comforting presence and stood alone in the middle of the room. Sam took his seat with the guitar and held his hands ready to begin the chords. She took a deep breath and thought of all the things she'd learned; everything that had changed about her life since Sam had walked into it. Everything in the past week that had gone wrong and the one thing that had gone right, Noah Puckerman the boy who was now her best friend.
She put the microphone to her lips and looked at her audience. Puck had taken a seat next to Sam, Brittany sitting on the other side of her brother. Mr. Schuester was leaning against the wall by the risers and everyone was waiting expectantly, some of them with knowing smirks on their faces. Sam was watching her though, he and Puck were fixed in their attention and she knew they believed in her, they knew what she was capable of. Rachel took a deep breath and began to sing,
"I'm wide awake
I'm wide awake..."
Her voice echoed slightly and faded on each word and Rachel smiled, this would be fun,
"I'm wide awake
Yeah, I was in the dark
I was falling hard
With an open heart
I'm wide awake
How did I read the stars so wrong?
I'm wide awake
And now it's clear to me
That everything you see
Ain't always what it seems
I'm wide awake
Yeah, I was dreaming for so long..."
Normal was a dream for her, but Puck was right, he'd told her normal wasn't for her because she was special. And he was right, she had a brother who loved her and a friend who believed in her after he'd only known her for a week. These perfect people who kept waiting for her to stumble would eventually see it but she'd be able to get up and walk on, she'd been tried and tested and she was stronger. Cheerios and jocks with slushies couldn't break her. With a smile she started on the chorus,
"I wish I knew then
What I know now
Wouldn't dive in
Wouldn't bow down
Gravity hurts
You made it so sweet
'Til I woke up on
On the concrete
Falling from cloud nine
Crashing from the high
I'm letting go tonight
Yeah, I'm falling from cloud nine..."
Rachel did wish she'd gone into McKinley with her eyes open, but at the same time, if she'd looked like everyone else she might have trusted in the false friendships she'd made. She might have believed and then when something had gone wrong as it inevitably would, she would have been hurt far worse than a few slushies and cruel remarks. She might never have become friends with Puck, might have put stock in the rumors and missed the friendship of the kindest sweetest, if secretive, boy.
"I'm wide awake
Not losing any sleep
I picked up every piece
And landed on my feet
I'm wide awake
Need nothing to complete myself, no
I'm wide awake
Yeah, I am born again
Out of the lion's den
I don't have to pretend
And it's too late
The story's over now, the end..."
Her voice hardened slightly on the last word, and she stared at Sam and then the rest of the club. Noah Puckerman was her friend now and if anyone tried to say otherwise or do something to split her away from him they'd find out just how dangerous a tiny future Broadway diva could be. And she wouldn't pretend to be something she wasn't. Puck had been right, being herself was simpler and better, why should she hide? Why shouldn't she be spectacular. She could have a fun year without hiding who she was. She didn't have to say anything about ChiArts or Julliard. She could just enjoy being who she was.
"I wish I knew then
What I know now
Wouldn't dive in
Wouldn't bow down
Gravity hurts
You made it so sweet
'Til I woke up on
On the concrete
Falling from cloud nine (it was out of the blue)
I'm crashing from the high
I'm letting go tonight (yeah, I'm letting you go)
I'm falling from cloud nine..."
The half lines were a little tricky but she managed them and then she only had a breath or two before the bridge, but it was so worth it to see the look of shock on the black girl's face and the amazement on the pretty boy's. All of them were staring, shocked and Rachel couldn't help grinning widely as she began the bridge,
"I'm wide awake
Thunder rumbling
Castles crumbling
I'm wide awake
I am trying to hold on
I'm wide awake
God knows that I tried
Seeing the bright side
I'm wide awake
But I'm not blind anymore..."
She clicked the echo on the microphone again for the next two lines and glad she'd caught Puck's eye when she sang the last half of the bridge. He'd smiled so wickedly that she'd nearly stuttered and only her years of training had kept her from stumbling over the words.
"I'm wide awake
I'm wide awake
Yeah, I'm falling from cloud nine (it was out of the blue)
I'm crashing from the high
You know I'm letting go tonight (yeah, I'm letting you go)
I'm falling from cloud nine."
Switching the echo back on again Rachel sang the last lines keeping her eyes on Noah Puckerman's face. His hazel eyes had darkened to a near green and his gaze was fixed on her like she was either a predator or he was and she'd become prey. It was disconcerting and electrifying both and she hoped she could keep her breath under control as she finally finished the song.
"I'm wide awake
I'm wide awake
I'm wide awake
I'm wide awake
I'm wide awake."
Switching the microphone off she laid it on top of the piano and folded her hands in a deliberately prim manner, "I trust that satisfies your curiosity as to my ability to adapt?"
"There is no way you just sang that cold," The Latina Cheerio challenged, "Nobody can do that."
Puck snorted and rolled his eyes, "Rae can," He elbowed Sam who was staring at his sister in pride and amazement. "Tell 'em."
"Oh, yeah," Sam rose and unplugged the guitar, placing it back in its case on the wall. "Rachel's got perfect pitch. And she usually only needs to hear a song once before she's got it note perfect."
"How would you know?" The tall boy asked a not quite friendly tone to his voice.
"Because Rae's my foster sister," Sam said in his straightforward way.
"So RuPaul's parents dumped her?" The blonde Cheerio who'd slushied Rachel jeered. "Why is that not surprising?"
Rachel felt herself flushing and her hands fisted as she saw Sam's cheekbones spot with red. He was embarrassed and angry and it was her fault. "So what?" She snarled at the Cheerio, "Not everybody is blessed with the perfect life. I'm lucky. Sam's family is wonderful. They give me my own room, encourage my interests and take care of me. They had to pull a lot of strings to move me between states but they never gave dumping me with another foster family a thought. They kept me even though they didn't have to. They wanted me."
"Rae you don't hafta-" Sam tried to stop her.
"Yes I do," Rachel turned the full force of her glare on him and watched him back down before she returned her gaze to the Cheerios. "I have a little brother and sister and Sam's family is trying to get them moved in with us. They kept me because they wanted me. And as far as I'm concerned that's better than being born into a perfect family. They don't beat me, they don't sexually abuse me, or cram me into a room with four other kids." She folded her arms, "And for your information, my parents didn't 'dump' me. My father lost his job. He went a little postal. My mother died. We were made wards of the state. So say something. Please. Tell me how I'm such a freak I deserve to have that happen? Tell me that my little sister and brother deserve to be taken away from me. I'd love to hear how you justify that."
"Rae," Sam put a hand on her arm and she took a deep breath.
"Sorry Sammy," She offered. "Just not quite how I'd pictured this week going."
"Makes two of us," Sam smiled. He looked at the teacher and shook his head. "I won't tell Rachel she can't do Glee because that's her decision. But you just stood by and didn't even call your students on their behavior. Rae told me that you were standing in the hallway when she got slushied and those two," He nodded towards the pretty boy Kurt and the black girl, "Laughed at her and insulted her and you didn't do anything to stop any of it." His jaw set, "So I'll audition and you can tell me if my voice is good enough."
"If its anything like Rachel's I'm sure it will be," Mr. Schuester didn't address the rest of Sam's speech and Rachel had to stop herself from rolling her eyes.
"Got somethin' in your back pocket Sam?" Puck asked with a grin.
"If Rae can get on the piano, yeah I got somethin'," Sam smiled slightly but it didn't reach his eyes.
Rachel smiled at the pianist, "Sorry to oust you from your seat, but may I?" The man just smiled and got up. "Sam, what'll it be?"
"How about that old one Daddy likes, from Murphy's Romance," Sam told her with a smile.
"It's more for guitar than piano," Rachel reminded him. "Sure you need me?"
"I got the guitar part covered," Sam smiled, "But you know I like the piano for the main melody."
"You got it bro," She smiled sweetly and winked at Puck who was watching her with a look on his face she couldn't quite read.
Sam took the old acoustic guitar from its place on the wall and slung the strap around his neck fingering the opening chords. "So it's supposed to be a romantic song, from this old movie our dads love, but I like to think of my family when I sing it. Rae can always calm me down when I get messed up in my head, and our dads...well they believe in us both no matter what," He explained looking more at Puck and Brittany than the rest of the club.
Artie nodded his understanding, "Carole King wrote it didn't she?"
Rachel nodded and smiled, giving Sam the opening he needed with the piano as he began to strum the guitar. Soon her brother's smooth baritone, lighter in sound than Puck's but just as lovely to hear began to ring through the air.
"I love you more than the morning loves the flowers
Than the ocean loves the shore
Than a day loves the hours
I will love you longer
Than the desert sky is lonely
Oh, you can believe me
I love you only..."
Sam smiled as he strummed the guitar a few more times, music always calmed him, put his mind at ease. But he would have to set these people straight about who the foster kid was once they were done with the song. Looking at his sister he sang the next verse,
"You are the lady
Who can calm me when I'm crazy
You're never far from hand
You understand me
Though I may wander
Like a river, swift and stony
Oh, you can believe me
I love you only..."
A few more notes on the piano and he was ready for the last chorus.
"I will love you longer
Than the desert sky is lonely
Oh, you can believe me
I love you only
Oh, you can believe me
I love you only..."
Sam took the guitar strap off and moved to replace the instrument on the wall before anyone could react. Brittany was the first to speak, "Oooh it was so pretty, Mr. Schue can I keep him? Please?" She begged the choir director.
"He ain't a puppy Britt," Puck drawled an amused tone to his voice.
"Brittany's right," Mr. Schuester said quietly. "You have a good voice. You'd be welcome in Glee."
"No, thanks," Sam told him flatly. When the teacher simply stared at him the blond boy elaborated. "If you're ever short and you need another guy I'll step in. Because I love my sister more than anything and she wants to be in Glee, and you guys need twelve members to compete."
"Then why bother auditioning," The tall gangly boy asked, obviously confused.
"So you know what I can do," Sam told him before looking at the teacher again. "But if you think I'd join a club where you let people talk to my sister like that? You've lost your mind." He stopped at the piano bench and kissed Rachel's cheek. "It was cool to hear you sing Rae, come by the library when you need a ride home."
"I'll drop her off dude," Puck offered. "Know you wanna hit the books."
"Rae if he isn't a gentleman you'd better give him a black eye or let me do it," Sam pointed at Puck with a warning glare picking up his backpack and leaving the room.
"He always has to get the last word," Rachel scowled. "As if you'd behave so uncouthly," She said as she took a seat next to her friend.
"You don't know him too well, uncouth is Puck's default behavior," The pretty boy Kurt said from behind them.
Rachel frowned over her shoulder and then looked at Puck who sighed and shrugged at her. Rolling her eyes Rachel simply tucked her hand into the crook of his elbow and stretched out her legs next to his. Puck grinned down at her slender legs as she knew he would and slid a finger daringly under the elastic of the stocking on her thigh.
"So when are you gonna stop wearing these an' just show off alla that creamy skin?" Puck asked in a voice not quite low enough to go unheard by the rest of the club.
"When the temperature exceeds eighty nine degrees," Rachel replied primly. "Now behave yourself Noah or I won't give you any cookies when you take me home."
"Is that a euphemism?" Mike wondered with a grin as Tina elbowed him and the rest of the group laughed.
"Nah dude, Rae makes the best cookies," Puck said lazily. "We got calc together so when we study she feeds me." He stopped playing with the top of Rachel's stocking and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "Legit she's gonna teach me to cook too so Ma and Eli and me can stop subsistin' on take out an' frozen food."
"That's why they kept her," Santana laughed a bit nastily, "Slave labor."
Puck turned and glared at the Latina, "Fuck off Satan." He snapped the words out, "I don't care if you got a gold plated cunt, I don't gotta take your shit an' neither does Rae." He stood up and he looked at Mr. Schue and the rest of the group. "Mr. Schue, if we ain't gonna do anythin' else me an' Rae are gonna go."
"I had intended to talk about assignments for next week, songs we could do, trying to prepare for Sectionals," Mr. Schuester said slowly. "The guidelines aren't set out yet as to theme or requirements, but it's never too early to start preparing." He looked at Rachel, "I don't expect you to be up to speed with how show choirs work and the general idea behind them, but I'm sure Puck can give you a good overview."
Rachel nodded solemnly and elbowed Puck when she felt him laughing silently, "When does the club generally meet?" She asked to cover her friends chortle.
"Well we've got several football players and Cheerios and they have practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well as Saturdays so we usually meet Monday, Wednesday and Friday," Mr. Schuester said explained. "Last year we made it all the way to Nationals in New York."
Rachel nodded her understanding, "What music do you favor?"
"We like things we can sing as a group," Brittany told her with a smile. "But we always do something that Mercedes can have a good solo 'cause she's got pipes."
"For the ballads do you favor duets or solos?" Rachel asked as Puck's hand snuck up to play with the ends of her curls.
"We've done both," Finn answered with a boyish grin Rachel might have found attractive once. "It really depends on whether or not someone stole our set list. We sometimes have last minute changes."
Rachel looked at Puck curiously and he nodded, "The cheerleading coach really don't like Mr. Schue, an' she hates the rest of us."
"Why? Is Cheerleading so wonderful?" Rachel leaned forward a bit to look at Brittany, "Do you like it as much as Glee?"
"I have fun with the Cheerios too," Brittany assured her. "Coach Sue is always getting us motivated and shouting funny things. And it's like dancing only with yelling and gymnastics."
"Can I watch you sometime?" Rachel asked quietly. "I've never seen a cheerleading squad."
"Never?" The blonde sitting next to the gangly boy asked incredulously, "Where did you come from? Alaska?"
"Chicago, Jane Addams Preparatory Academy for Girls," Rachel said quietly. "We didn't have a football team so we didn't have cheerleaders."
"Then it'll be fun for you to watch us," Brittany grinned. "I'll meet you at your locker after school on Tuesday."
Rachel nodded slowly and looked at Mr. Schuester who seemed somewhat nonplussed by all the conversation. The teacher cleared his throat and finally spoke, "I'd like you all to think about the things you hide, the sides you don't normally present for people to see. Facets of your personality that you tend to conceal when you're at school." He looked at Brittany, "For instance Brittany if you ever feel insecure about how you look, or wish you were different in some way, that isn't something we see from you, so you might sing about that."
"All right," Brittany sounded confused and Rachel frowned for a moment until the Latina Cheerio's voice spoke, more kindly that she'd ever heard it personally, saying that she'd work on it with her.
"So what you want are secrets," Rachel said quietly. "You want us to sing about our fears, things we don't show people because they'll laugh or they won't understand."
"Not specifics, but in general, find a song to express what it is that you hide," Mr. Schuester nodded. "I want you all to work on that this weekend."
Rachel looked at Puck and saw his frown, "What's wrong?" She whispered.
"Tell ya at home," Puck murmured back. "Hey 'fore ya all take off, Rae don't know half a your names." He pointed out laconically as everyone began packing up and moving towards the exits.
"Sorry about that," Mr. Schuester held up his hands, "Everybody introduce yourselves please."
"I'm Brittany Pierce," The Cheerio sitting next to Puck smiled at Rachel. "See you on Monday Rachel. Oh I like your socks!" The curly headed blonde bounced out of the room happily.
"I'm Artie, Artie Abrams" The boy in the wheelchair smiled, "I'm in Calculus with you and Puck."
"I've seen you but we haven't gotten to talk much," Rachel smiled. "Nice to meet you finally." He smiled and rolled away to speak with one of the boys with the instruments off to the side of the room.
"Hey, I'm Finn Hudson, I'm one of the Leads, co-captain along with Mercedes, and I'm also the quarterback on the football team," The gangly boy stood in front of her not realizing his crotch was right at her eye level. Or maybe he did and that's why he stood there, Rachel nodded finally.
"Puck and Sam have mentioned you," Rachel said finally.
"Well don't believe everything Puck tells you," Finn gave a half smirk at Puck. "He'll say anything to get in good with a girl."
"Funny, he's been nothing but honest with me," Rachel said quietly. "Even when it made him look bad."
"I'm Quinn Fabray and this is Santana Lopez," Unlike the others these two did not come any closer than three feet away, and Finn backed up to stand by Quinn. "We're co-captains of the Cheerios. And we alternate lead in Glee along with Mercedes."
"That'd be me," The black girl spoke from behind Rachel and Puck, "Mercedes Jones."
"And I'm Kurt Hummel," The pretty boy with the nearly soprano voice said with a flip of his scarf. "My boyfriend Blaine Anderson is in Glee too but he had a dentist visit today so he had to skip. He'll be so disappointed that he didn't get to see your audition." Kurt's tone implied otherwise and he rose and left without another word, Mercedes walking out with him.
"And this is Tina and Mike," Rachel smiled at the last two.
"Hey," Mike grinned. "Sorry if I was starin' before, I just haven't ever heard such a big voice come out of such a tiny package."
"My dads say that everything about me is big except my body," Rachel grinned. "Attitude, personality, voice, obsessions..." She rolled her eyes.
"They ain't wrong," Puck smiled. "See you guys later okay? I better get Rae home."
"Is it Rachel or Rae," Mr. Schuester asked quietly before they left. "Your brother and Puck seem to call you Rae."
Rachel regarded the teacher thoughtfully and tilted her head, "I'd prefer everyone call me Rachel until I give them permission to do otherwise. I don't allow very many people to call me Rae. Thank you for asking."
"Rachel it is then," The teacher didn't seem to take the formality as the slight intended but then he did seem fairly clueless about a lot of things. "Oh, and if your brother wants he can sit in and watch rehearsals whenever he likes."
"I doubt he'll have a lot of time," Rachel said quietly. "Sam has to spend a lot of time on schoolwork. But I'll be sure to let him know that he's welcome."
"Good. We don't exclude people in Glee." Mr. Schuester seemed to think that was the final word and left the room.
Rachel looked up at Puck and sighed, "What have I let myself in for Puckerman?" She asked with a half laugh.
"Lotta fun," Puck grinned. "C'mon Berry, let's get your stuff an' get you home. Gotta come up with some tunes for next week."
Author's Note: The general perception of foster kids is that they are unwanted, that they are trouble makers. People usually think there's something wrong with them and that's why they aren't adopted. Girls tend to be labeled as promiscuous, boys as delinquents. This is an erroneous and exaggerated generalization. Foster kids have a higher occurrence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and other psychological problems. Since small towns are not generally accepting of differences and in canon McKinley kids bully the gleeks just for being different it's not a stretch to say that the kids would believe the misconceptions about foster kids. I doubt they'd ever met any in their lives.
These aren't my views and I can't make clear enough that they are wrongful stereotypes that should not be encouraged. The beginning of the next chapter continues these views somewhat but I didn't want to put a note in before it started.
That being said I hope you folks like the chapter.
