Chapter Four:
Throughout the entire Glee rehearsal Kurt, Mercedes, Tina and Brittany were trying to get Abby to tell them what she and Puck had been talking about in the hall, before they had entered rehearsal together. That combined with the fact that they were working on a new number that Abby could not get the choreography down to, and Santana was shooting death glares at her the entire two hours, Abby was not in the best of moods when Mr. Scheuster sat the whole group down near the end of practice to make an announcement.
"Ok guys, here's the deal. I want to take you all on a field trip. There is a high school in Fort Wayne, Indiana, who's Glee club would like to have an invitational skirmish with you guys. Their director saw you guys at Sectional's, and would like to have our two clubs meet. You won't be competing at Regional's with them, but it's still a great way to meet some new people, and see what some other Glee clubs are up to. So, are we interested in going?"
There was a unanimous answer of yes from the club, and Mr. Scheuster held up his hands in defence from the cheering and questions being shouted at him from the students.
"Whoa, hold on guys, hold on! Now let me finish before you bombard me again, I'll answer all your questions, I promise. Now, the school is about an hour and a half away, so we'll need $25 from each of you to cover the expenses, and I'll need each of you to bring me back a signed permission slip as soon as possible. We will be crossing state lines, so it's a more involved permission slip than the ones you're used to. I have the slips for you today, and I'll need them all before we board the bus on Friday morning. All the details are on the forms for your parents to read over, and if they have any questions at all, they can feel free to call me. Oh, and Ms. Pillsbury will be the other chaperone on the trip in case you were wondering"
Mr. Scheuster spent the next twenty minutes answering questions from the club before he passed out the permission slips and dismissed them. Abby rushed out of the room after Mr. Scheuster, ignoring the calls from her friends back in the rehearsal room. She caught up with him just at the door to his office.
"Mr. Scheuster? Could I talk to you for a minute?" she asked after knocking quietly on the doorframe of the open door.
"Sure Abby, what's up?"
Abby looked around to make sure the hall was empty before she ran a hand through her hair and stepped into the room, sitting down in the chair in front of Mr. Scheuster's desk.
"I can't get a parents signature on the permission slip" she said quietly, staring at a point on the desk in front of her.
"Well Abby, you need the signature to go on the trip. I'm afraid that's just how it works; there is no way around it. Where are your parents that they can't sign the form?" Mr. Scheuster asked with a tone of concern.
"I don't live with my parents. My mom died, and I'm legally emancipated from my dad and live on Student Social Assistance. My mom grew up in Lima, which is why I chose here I guess. Anyway, I signed all my own paperwork to get transferred into the school, so would I be able to sign my own permission slip?"
Mr. Scheuster sighed and leaned back in his chair, studying the young girl before him.
"God, Abby that's a big hit of information you just handed me. So your mother passed away, and you're emancipated from your father, which means..."
"It's basically like I divorced my dad. I am my own person and can make my own decisions and live on my own without him being in my life at all. And before you ask, I'd really rather not get into the details of why I chose to get emancipated if it's all the same"
"Of course, that's your business, and as long as your safety and the safety of your teammates and friends isn't questioned because of it, it will stay your business" Mr. Scheuster told her, speaking to her with the same level of seriousness he would any of his colleagues, because he could tell by the air that Abby held herself that she had had many conversations similar to this one with many adults, and she was keeping her guard up so that she wouldn't get blindsided.
"He doesn't want anything to do with me right now, so our safety shouldn't come into question. But if there ever comes a time when he does become a problem, I will let you know because then...well then we'd need to talk" Abby told him, smiling tightly in hopes of covering up the fear that she felt whenever she thought of her father.
"Ok, and Abby-"
"I know. If I ever want to talk about it, you're here. Thank you, but for now I'm alright. I appreciate it and all, but I'm fine. So it's alright if I sign my own paper?"
"I'll have to double check with Principle Figgins, but if you signed your own administrative papers than you should be just fine. Will you have a problem coming up with the money for the trip?" Mr. Scheuster tacked on at the end, flinching a little at the blunt way it came out.
Abby just laughed, shaking her head. "No, it should be fine. I'm not a pauper Mr. Scheu I'm just not really living the high life right now. I'll be able to come up with the money by Friday"
Mr. Scheuster laughed along with her and nodded his head in understanding. "Alright Abby, well thank you for letting me know about this. I'll check with Figgins and let you know about it on Monday"
"Thanks Mr. Scheu. Oh and one more thing?"
"I know, and don't worry, the other kids won't hear a word of this unless it's you who tells them" Mr. Scheuster gave Abby a warm smile as she picked up her bag and started out into the hallway.
"Thanks. Have a good weekend Mr. Scheuster"
"You too Abby"
Abby walked down the hall, feeling better now that she had worked out the issue with the Glee instructor. She was not looking forward to another long and lonely weekend alone in her apartment, but her spirit brightened a little when she decided that she would call Tina and ask if the gang wanted to go hang out at the mall or something. Smiling at the prospect of spending some time with her new friends, Abby had a smile on her face as she walked out of the school.
***
Meanwhile, Mercedes was in Kurt's car with Kurt, both on their cell phones, connected to the same conference call, which connected in Tina, Artie, and Brittany.
"You guys, I have major news" Mercedes was telling the group excitedly. "You know how we all figured that Abby was keeping some horrible secret?"
"You f-f-found out what it is?!" Tina exclaimed, worry lacing her voice.
"She has an illegitimate love child at home?" Kurt guessed
"She's a spy with the FBI?" Artie took a stab at it
"Guys, if s-she wanted us to know sh-sh-she'd tell us herself" Tina said in Abby's defence.
"Does that mean you don't want to know?" Mercedes taunted and Tina conceded.
"Well, n-n-not if the rest of you are g-gonna know" she said sheepishly.
"Ok, well get this guys. I followed Abby when she ran from Glee like a girl who's weave had caught fire. She was following Mr. Scheu, so first I thought, damn we've got another Rachel-Mr. Scheu crush scenario on our hands, so I did a little eavesdropping to figure out how bad it was, and that is when I heard. She went to Scheu's office and told him that she couldn't get a parent to sign her permission slip, because...she's emancipated"
"What's that?" Brittany asked slowly, as she tried to spell out the word in her head.
"It means she lives on her own, she's legally her own person and doesn't need her parents for anything" Artie explained.
"Oh. So why is she going to school then? If I didn't have parents I wouldn't go to school"
"Because she's got a clue honey" Kurt told her gently then motioned for Mercedes to continue.
"Anyway, so, I guess her mama died, but she didn't say when or why, but I guess her daddy is bad news and she had to get away from him. Again she didn't use details, but from what I got, if he ever turns up, we could all be in some trouble.
"Maybe he's in a gang" Artie suggested.
"P-p-poor Abby" Tina commented sadly.
"Yeah, I know, but how could she keep something like this from us?! We are the ones who should be afraid of some crazy-ass white man coming to kill us in our sleep!" Mercedes exclaimed. Kurt rolled his eyes and reached across the console of his car to pat her on the arm.
"I think that's going a little overboard, and this is coming from me. But I do think you're correct. Abby is our friend, she should have told us the truth"
"So how does she make money if she doesn't live with her parents?" Artie asked suddenly.
"She said something about Student Social Assistance, but that still must not give her a lot of extra dough" Mercedes told them. "Anyway, Brittany, can you tell Santana and the football guys about all this? We need to make sure the whole group knows by Monday do we're all caught up before we see Abby again"
"Sure. What am I telling them?" Brittany asked, sounding kind of dazed.
"Never mind, I'll send a mass e-mail when I get home. This is too important a piece of gossip to leave to someone else" Mercedes decided.
"Send us all a copy so we know what you told the football people too" Kurt told her, loving the gossip almost as much as his friend.
"Oh I will, no worries. By dinner tonight everyone will know Abby's secret, and she won't have to hide it anymore"
The group ended their call, all feeling pretty good about the fact that they thought they were alleviating the stress of hiding a secret from their new friends' shoulders.
