Hi! Hope you enjoy Chapter 2 from Will's point of view! You-Tube links are below for songs that will be in this ep! Please R&R!
Ringtone: http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=hRGlEvPEacg
First song: http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=O4MnOE6AVbY
Ballad: http:/www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=273eSvOwpKk
Daisy Butter: Wheels, Chains and Pure Glee
Chapter 2
Will
My phone rang.
"Beggin, Beggin you...put your lovin hand out, baby..."
I stirred and woke. My alarm clock was projecting the time onto the ceiling. Seven am. I let the cell go to voice-mail and laid there for a moment before getting up, trying not to wake Emma. He auburn hair was splayed out on the pillow, and her fingers were primly laced together.
I feel myself grin. After everything that had happened with Terri, I knew Emma was the one thing I could count on. Her, and my kids. I'm grateful for New Directions, too; even through everything that had happened to us, such as Sue Sylvester trying to sabotage the club, we are all closer than ever, and I am grateful for that, too.
As I make coffee and get prepared for the day, I think about Terri. She was my wife, and had been for almost fifteen years, but the only viewpoint I could take now was that it had been a wasted period of my life, because through it all I knew now that she had been willing to strip it all away, to lie, to confuse and screw up the life of a young girl, let alone her husband.
On the subject of Quinn, there was nothing I could say. She lied too, but I understood that she was just doing all she could for her child, which is why she's moved out of town to find suitable parents. I know Finn is torn up, and Puck isnt' doing too well either. Right now, the kids needed me. Morale is low over the loss of Quinn and the fact that we were no longer eligible for Regionals.
If only one more person would join...
I park my car into the school lot, and like every day, I see some of the glee kids entering the building.
The Sun was still rising, and it was casting a warm glow on the lot. I take in a deep breath, get my stuff out of the back seat and enter the building.
It's lunch, and I'm in the teacher's lounge. I'm working on stuff for that day's glee club.
Emma's over by the coffee machine, Ken's over at the other end of the room with the Lab teachers, and Sue Sylvester is reading a large newspaper the next table over which obscured her entire form.
Since being reinstated, Sue has taken to eating alone, working alone, and not uttering a work to anyone except her Cheerios. She had instantly taken Santana and Brittany off the squad after insisting that they were spending squad budget money on hair product for me. I ignored her as if she were not there, and that seemed to suit the both of us.
Emma put my coffee cup on the table, and sat with her own in her hands. The Sun was shining in through the window and lighting up her hair, and I thought about how she could possibly want me. We didn't 'canoodle' (as Emma puts it) in front of Ken, for respect of him, I guess.
All of a sudden, I heard a familiar voice ring through the room.
"Hi, Mr. Schue, I was just wondering if you've noticed the-"
"Rachel, I don't think you're supposed to be in here."
"-and since New Directions won Sectionals I don't think it would be appropriate to continue letting the club go on in this state of low morale, and therefore-"
"This is the teacher's lounge."
"Mr. Schue, are you even listening to me?"
I was so used to her constant jabber that I hadn't caught the most of what she had said. Emma was looking from Rachel to me with a sense of amusement in her eyes, and I noticed Sue was gripping her newspaper more tightly than before.
I sighed, "...Yes, Rachel?"
She looked down at me with an exasperated look on her face, "You weren't listening. I knew it. Mr. Schue, somebody's signed up to audition today!"
"Really?" I asked, setting down my cup, "Who?"
"I don't know who she is, Artie said she's his lab partner. My point Mr. Schuester is that as team captain I should have a say in whether or not she is accepted-"
I interrupted again, "Rachel, the entire club will judge. It wouldn't be fair just for the two of us to make a decision. Tell the others to be at the auditorium at four."
Rachel looked satisfied, nodded with her lips pursed and swept out. I smiled at Emma, who stared at me over her coffee.
"Looks like someones taken sympathy," I commented.
"It looks like it, Will. There is a massive peer pressure force against glee club; whoever signed up must have put Quinn's departure into consideration, otherwise I don't think they would have."
"Huh. At least something good came out of her leaving," I smiled at her, and she blushed, averting her eyes.
I gathered my papers, put my empty coffee cup in the sink, and kissed Emma's forehead goodbye as the afternoon classes were about to start.
4pm. Time for the audition.
I'm sitting in the auditorium, with Rachel next to me having insisted she should sit up front as team captain. The rest of the club are sitting at the back, where they will be able to hear her sing, but she might not see them. I'm flicking through my papers absent-mindedly, waiting for this Daisy Butter to arrive. Rachel was sitting very business-like, with a friendly smile already prepared on her face. I could hear the rest of the club members muttering to each other, and I distinctly heard Kurt say, "You guys had better hope this chick can sing."
I sighed, and was just about to turn around to talk to them when the door opened and a head appeared through,
"Hello? Oh. Um...I'm Daisy Butter."
"Hi Daisy, come on in."
The girl shuffled in, setting her bag on the floor. She was small, with shoulder length blonde hair. I smiled in what I hoped was a welcoming smile, and leaned forward in my seat to speak into the microphone.
"Alright then Daisy, how this will work is you'll perform your chosen song first, and then the ballad. We'll ask you a couple of questions and we'll let you know after some deliberation what we think. OK?"
"Oh-OK," Daisy replied. Her eyes were at the back of the auditorium- the lights weren't dim enough, she knew she had an audience.
Daisy went to Brad at the piano and the band at the side of the stage and told them her songs before going to her bag, swilling from a bottle of water and returning to the centre of the stage, and her microphone.
"OK, I'm ready."
"Great, take it away."
A few seconds later Steve came in with the piano, and it was only when Daisy began to sing that I recognised the song. It was 'Sophia' by Nerina Pallot, a very quiet song accompanied only by the piano.
"Five 'o'clock and the fire escape symphony
Spilling out across the road and the square,
And the sky's the same as you're alone, do you think of me?
Do the parks and trees and the leaves reach you there?"
Hmm. She has a good voice. Definitely good enough for New Directions. Solo worthy? Not sure, yet. This is a very soft, heartfelt song, she isn't showing us her stripes yet.
"Passion and silence,
Every word, every line, a measure,
It's the science of the soul,
And his books, they breathe a reason and now I wanna know..."
Her eyes are open and she's staring into space, like she has a specific point to focus on, that's a good way to perform.
Alright, the first song's over.
"Good job, Daisy," I said, giving her the go-ahead to begin the ballad. Daisy nodded, slightly out of breath; out of the corner of my eye I saw Rachel shift in her seat, probably slightly curious, like me, to see what she had chosen for her ballad. Daisy took some deep breaths before nodding to the band.
Guitar strings guided her in.
"Just have a little
Patience.
Still hurting from a
love I lost."
I had heard the song before, and I was racking my brains to name it. It was almost to the chorus when I remembered to listen.
"Don't be too hard on my emotions,
Cause I...
Need time...
My heart is numb, has no feeling,
So while I'm still healing,
Just try...
And have a little,
Patience."
Wow. Impressive. That was a big, loud, drawn out chorus with high notes, and she nailed it. I know this song is supposed to be sung by a guy, and it really needs backing singers, but I think Daisy made it work. I noticed some moments where she lost her timing and I could hear her voice straining once or twice, but despite the need for improvement, I highly approve.
Daisy finished the ballad along with the band, and she looked up at me and Rachel, who was beaming. There were some obligatory claps from the back of the auditorium, and Daisy's eyes snapped over before grinning nervously.
"Well, thank you Daisy," I said, "we just have some questions to ask you."
"OK," she replied, a little breathless and red-faced.
Rachel leaned over and spoke in my mic and read from a sheet of paper,
"Hi Daisy, I'm Rachel Berry, captain of New Directions. Question One: Why do you want to be in glee club?"
Daisy swallowed, "Um, well, I really care about performing, and I put my whole heart into everything I do, and I really, really want to be in a club where I know that people feel the same way I do."
"What do you want to achieve in New Directions?"
"I guess to just help glee club go as far as it can, yeah. And also, I wanna meet some new people and make new friends. And, uh...I would really like to get out of Lima, Ohio."
This was met my some whoops at the back, and Daisy smiled again.
"OK. If you could go backstage please Daisy, as we deliberate." I smiled and Daisy walked past the band who were packing up, to behind the stage, and Rachel and I joined the rest of the club at the back.
"OK," I began, leaning on one of the chairs, "what did everyone think?"
They looked amongst themselves before Tina, sat between Puck and Kurt, spoke,
"I thought she was good, Mr. Schue."
"So did I," Puck agreed, briefly.
"Yeah, she was good," Artie said, over next to Finn, "Guys?"
"I liked her and all, but was her voice big enough?" Mercedes mused,
"Not really," Kurt answered, "Not for a solo. Not for Regionals."
"But she was good enough, and thats what matters," argued Santana, which Rachel nodded to.
"Alright guys, let's put it down to a vote, shall we?" I interjected, "All those in favour of letting Daisy join New Directions, raise your hand."
Artie, Puck, Tina, Santana, Brittany, Mike and Rachel all raised their hands, whilst Matt, Finn, Mercedes and Kurt didn't.
"I'm afraid the hands have it," I said, grinning as the relief hit me, "Guys, we've got our twelfth number for Regionals."