The Lima Country Club End of Summer Ball
Rachel:
So far Rachel's night had been at best, boring. Logan had spent more time with his friends than he had talking and dancing with her and Vanessa seemed to be having a pretty good time with her date, Grant Park.
Grant Park was one of Noah Puckerman's best friends. He was cute in a nerdy sort of way. He had always been nice to Rachel even before her make over. Last winter when the A-List came out, Grant was disappointed to see that even though all of his friends had made it into the top ten he was farther down the list in the section labeled B-List. Rachel didn't give it much thought, she was number one on the girls list after all.
Rachel made sure to enjoy every minute she got to spend with Logan and Vanessa. Surprisingly, there were only a few people that she wanted to avoid. Two girls named Rebeca Thoms and Sandy Whitford. They were Quinn's best friends before she dropped them. They had ruled the ninth grade with fear. Quinn was always the queen bitch and Rebeca and Sandy did all of her evil bidding without question. The day before summer break began, Rachel sat on a bench under a tree outside of the school waiting for her mom. She saw Quinn burst through the door, Rebeca and Sandy close on her trail.
'We are so done.' Quinn had barked at them.
'Why? What did we do?' Rebeca had asked.
'You should really pay more attention to the company you keep.' Quinn spat. 'I can't be seen with Double L's.' Her eyes bore into Sandy.
'My father is looking for a job.' she said quietly, her eyes searching the crowd that was forming.
'Not hard enough clearly.' Quinn said crossing her arms. 'He just signed up for welfare.'
'Come on Quinn.' Rebeca said her arm around Sandy. 'It's temporary.'
'Once a Lima Loser, always a Lima Loser.' Quinn said.
'Is that what this is really about?' Rebeca asked angrily.
'Of course it is.' Quinn answered, her faced shocked at Rebeca challenging her words. 'If you want to be a Double L, fine, but you're not going to pull me down with you.' she hissed before leaving the two girls on the steps. Rachel's eyes were glued to the blonde girl. She watched her legs take long strides as she took each of the stone steps gracefully. Her breathe caught in her throat when she saw Quinn approaching her bench. She plopped down with a sigh. Rachel kept her eyes glued to sheet music in her lap. They both sat in silence. When Rachel finally worked up the nerve to say something a sleek sports car pulled up to curb in front of them.
'What are you doing?' the boy in the car asked.
'Go away Austin.' Quinn said rolling her eyes.
'I didn't know you were slumming it.' he said. Rachel finally realized who the boy was. It was Quinn's older brother Austin Fabray. He was gorgeous. His skin was the color of sand, his dark chocolate eyes were wild with laughter and his dark brown hair hung down past his shoulders. 'I thought Quinn Fabray was too good to ride the bus.'
'I'm not.' she spat. 'My friend's mom is giving me a ride home.' "Friend?" Rachel thought. "Who was she talking about?"
'What's her name?' Austin asked with a chuckle.
'Rachel.' Quinn said smugly. 'Get out of here Austin.'
'Whatever Q.' he said as he gunned his engine and shot away from the curb.
'So can I get a ride or not?' she asked looking at Rachel's shocked face.
'You know my name?' Rachel asked quietly.
'Yeah. I've seen you around.' Quinn said smiling. 'I'm...rebranding.' she said throwing a glance back toward the steps where Rebeca and Sandy still sat. 'We should hang out this summer.'
'Ok.' Rachel said still shocked. Quinn smiled again and the two girls sat in silence until Rachel's mom showed up.
Rachel was also trying to avoid a boy named Travis Wilson. He was slime. Complete and utter slime. Travis had a bad reputation. One that Rachel wished her mom would distance herself from. He and Rachel's mom had a "special arrangement". There were rumors and speculation about the "special arrangement" between Shelby and Travis but only three people knew the truth behind it, and Travis never missed an opportunity to remind Rachel that he was one of the three.
"Hey Rach." Travis said sitting down beside her.
"It's Rachel and get away from me." she said nastily.
"I thought you'd be happier to see me." he said with devious smile on his face. "Your mom was."
"Shut up Travis." Rachel said through clenched teeth.
"I'm serious. She winked at me and booked me to..." he paused and laughed. "mow her lawn until the winter."
"You're disgusting." Rachel scoffed
"See ya at school." Travis said slyly.
'He's so gross.' she thought to herself as he walked away. When he walked past her mom she did indeed wink at him. 'Ugh.'
She knew that when her father Hiram left her mom for his new partner Leroy, it was hard on her mom. She was depressed for a long time and Rachel had to step up and take care of everything in the house. One day during the summer that she first became friends with Quinn, Rachel came home to discover her mother having a make-out session with a guy that just graduated from McKinley. Shelby had explained to her that Ryan Masters made her feel young and herself again. So if she saw younger men around the house not to be alarmed and not to be mean to them. This was making her happy. And Rachel had done just that. She wasn't shocked to see a pair of basketball shorts, or a slim fit tee in the bathroom. She wasn't mean to Random Guy #4 in the morning during his walk of shame. She was the ever gracious hostess. It wasn't until she woke to a familiar voice in the hallway. She had wrenched her door open to see a half naked Travis Wilson hanging out of the bathroom door asking her mother about a towel. He had smiled a vile smile and winked at her before saying, 'Morning Rach.' Rachel wanted to throw up right there.
After her mom appeared and had given him the towel, Rachel pulled her into her bedroom.
'Mom what the hell?'
'What?'
'Travis Wilson?' Rachel asked trying not to shout.
'What about him?' Shelby asked.
'Gross mom. Gross.' Rachel said. 'He can't stay here.'
'That's not your decision.' Shelby said annoyed.
'Mom, I've put up with all of your hook ups from Cookham but I can't put up with this one.' Rachel explained. 'I see him at school mom.'
'It's not really your business Rachel.' Shelby said opening the door. 'I like Travis, plus he cuts the grass for half the price as everybody else.'
'Did you ever stop to think that maybe that's because you're sleeping with him?' Shelby didn't answer her. She just rolled her eyes and bounded down the stairs.
Rachel pushed the memory out of her head and kept people watching, when her her phone began to vibrate.
I hope you don't think Travis is the only one. The Shelby Express is open 24/7.
-Q
"Quinn?" Rachel whispered as she reread the message.
