Thank you for all of your reviews! Without telling you what's going to happen, I will tell you this...some of your reviews are CLOSE to what is going to happen. You just have to figure out which ones they are. I promise you'll be okay with where we're headed!

Anyways, I know some of you were hoping for some Finchel interaction, but how about delving a little deeper into Sheridan's thoughts, hmm? Hope you like it! Our Poor Sheridan :(

And as always, I don't own Finn, Rachel or anyone who is actually associated with glee. Just Sheridan, Autumn and the plot. Enjoy!

Chapter 10: April 2027

Her grandfather's words from Saturday still echoed in her head as she got ready for school Monday morning. Yes, she was angry. Didn't she had a right to be angry? A right to her own emotions? She quickly applied the foundation to her face, trying in vain to hide the bags under her eyes that had developed from the endless hours of sleep that she had lost, tossing and turning in bed. A lot of it stemmed from hearing her mother cry at night, the other half of it was because she just felt...restless and tormented. And angry. She felt angry. Angry at everyone in her life. Angry at her mother for just letting her father walk away without fighting for him, angry at her father for not staying around when the going got tough. Even a little angry at her grandparents, all of them, for letting this happen to her family without stepping in to help. And by help she definitely meant more than just giving her father a place to stay and bring them every other weekend. Her Poppy was pretty quick to give her a stern talking to on Saturday because of her attitude, he should have one with each of her parents. She just didn't get it. Didn't they promise to love and cherish each other forever? Wasn't there a law that said they had to stick by each other through thick and thin? It hurt. It hurt like a bitch that her family was falling apart. And yes, it had been three months. Didn't mean it was getting any easier. If anything, the more time that past made the pain worse. It made everything feel more permanent which was not a feeling she liked. This new life they were all leading sucked. And it sucked bad. She lined her eyes thickly with eyeliner, the way Molly had taught her to at lunch last week. When she was satisfied with her appearance she left the bathroom and almost ran straight into her mother in the hallway.

"Good morning." Rachel smiled at her as she went for the stairs. "Your makeup looks pretty today."

Sheridan stared at her for a moment but didn't say anything to her as she followed her down the small set of stairs towards the kitchen. Sheridan moved through the kitchen, putting together a breakfast for herself. Her and Rachel had come to an understanding over the last couple of weeks that other than the weekends, it just made life a little more bearable if Sheridan put together her own breakfast. Less fighting, most of the time.

They got ready for the day in silence, Autumn filling in the background with her mindless, preschool chatter.

She got dropped off at the front entrance of the school much like any other day. She ran into the building as her mother pulled away from the curb, to meet her friends in the front entryway. She pasted on a happy face when she approached her group of friends, immediately jumping into the conversation they were already having.

"How was your weekend?" Molly asked as she fell into step beside her as they walked towards their string of lockers.

"Oh you know. A joy. We had Autumn's dance recital on Saturday. So yay, family time!" She mock cheered as Molly chuckled.

The small group of girls hung out in front of Sheridan's locker before the warning bell for first period went off.

"God, I hate Mondays" Molly mumbled as they walked down the hallway towards their first class, math.

"Yep. Mondays are the worst." Sheridan agreed. "Definitely created as a form of torture..."

"I highly doubt that. But they do suck" Molly laughed a little as they walked into the classroom. They found their seats as they waited for their teacher to join them.

"Did you do the practice pages this weekend?" Molly questioned as she flipped open her binder.

"Nah. I never do the practice pages." Sheridan shrugged. Why do the extra work if it wouldn't get her any credit? Molly sighed just as the final bell rang and their teacher, Mr. Wilson sauntered into the room but didn't say anything. They sat through the morning announcements, before Mr. Wilson made an announcement.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. To start our Monday morning off on just the right note, we're going to have a pop quiz. Put everything away."

Sheridan immediately groaned and tossed her notebook underneath her desk. She hated pop quizzes. She just did better when she could you know...study. When she studied that is. Mr. Wilson walked across the classroom and passed out the quiz papers to the front of each row to be passed backwards to everyone. She kept the paper face down on her table until she was told she could flip it over. She immediately groaned when she saw the questions. Maybe she should have done the practice pages over the weekend. Everything on the page looked like the stuff they had covered last Thursday and Friday in class. She could barely remember what they had covered then, her family problems at the forefront of her mind. She racked her brain as she stared at the paper. She managed to figure out a few of the questions just as Mr. Wilson called time. She sighed and threw her pencil down as he came to collect it.

When he made it back to the front of the classroom, he stacked the papers on his desk before launching into another lesson about some meaningless math formula Sheridan was sure she would never, ever use in her life.

They were coming to the end of the lesson, as Mr. Wilson assigned some homework along with the extra practice pages. She groaned when she looked at the homework assignment. She didn't fully understand what went on during the lesson. She only hoped she'd be able to fake her way through the homework. The bell rang, signalling the end of the period.

"Ms. Berry-Hudson, please wait a moment." Mr. Wilson called. She sighed, rolling her eyes at Molly.

"I'll tell Ms. Anderson you'll be late for science." Sheridan nodded and waited in her seat, fidgeting with her notebook while the rest of the classroom cleared out before grabbing her stuff and heading for the desk.

"Yes Mr. Wilson?" She chewed her lip as she looked down at her feet.

"Sheridan, I've marked your quiz from this morning. You only managed to answer one of the questions completely correct. Are you having trouble with the material? I know we've had this conversation many times this semester and I know I have offered you extra help. Which you never seem to come for." She didn't look up at him. "I'm not really understanding what the issue is here, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to bring your parents in for a conference since..."

"NO!" She shouted. Her head snapped up as she met the older teacher's eyes. "For the love of fucking God don't call my parents."

"Sheridan."

"You can't call my fucking parents, okay? You just fucking can't. They'll flip their shit on me and I just can't take that right now, alright? Don't call my fucking parents!" She reached out to touch Mr. Wilson's arm and he flinched away. Tears burned in the corners of her eyes. "Please, I'll do anything. Extra credit, anything."

"Sheridan, you're failing. I'm afraid school policy is a phone call home and conference with parents when a student is failing a class by a significant amount. You've yet to fully complete or pass an assignment or test since the beginning of the semester in February."

"Fuck you!" She shouted at the older man. "You don't even fucking care! Just fuck you!"

"Young lady, watch your tone and your language. I think you need to march yourself down to the principal's office right about now."

"Fuck you."

"Ms. Berry-Hudson, I would watch what you say. That kind of language and complete disrespect is grounds for suspension. Now get moving. Mrs. Hall will be expecting you." He moved to the intercom.

"Mrs. Hall is a bitch." She snapped as she grabbed her books and stomped out of the room, heading for the office. She chewed her lip. Her parents were going to kill her now. She was dead.

She marched down the hallway as she tried to sniff back the burn of tears in the corners of her eyes. She slung open the door to the reception area of Mrs. Hall's office and approached the receptionist, who told her to head straight in. Just as Mr. Wilson had promised, Mrs. Hall was expecting her. The older woman stood up from behind her desk and crossed her arms in front of her at her waist.

"Ms. Berry-Hudson, I understand you're having a bit of difficulty controlling your anger."

She stood on the opposite side of the desk, dropped her books in the chair and stared back at the older woman in front of her.

"What did that crazy man say to you?" She snapped, looking at the Principal.

"Sheridan..." Mrs. Hall sighed. She went to sit down in her seat and gestured for Sheridan to do the same.

"I didn't do anything wrong Mrs. Hall. I didn't. I hate math. I mean, my dad says I'm never going to use it in real life anyways." She mumbled. "And he should know, he's a teacher."

"Sheridan, this isn't about the fact that you think math is useless. It's more about the fact that you swore at Mr. Wilson. You know that foul language, especially in front of a faculty member or directed at one, is grounds for suspension." Sheridan sat up straighter. She didn't want to be suspended. She'd never hear the end of it at home if she was suspended. It would go on her record, and she just couldn't have that. "...and your marks." Mrs. Hall began. "You're failing Mr. Wilson's class, and you're on the borderline of failing Ms. Smith's English class. I'm afraid Sheridan, that I have no choice but to call a conference with your parents, both about your behaviour and your marks."

Her bravado was gone. Sheridan felt the tears rise in her eyes.

"Mrs. Hall, please..." She broke.

"Sheridan, I'm doing you a favour. Or would you rather be suspended for a day?"

"You don't understand..."

Mrs. Hall gave her a stare. "Sheridan, then make me understand. Because from what I'm gathering, a lot of your teachers have made notes about your change in behaviour and none of them are very good. So please, help me understand so we can all help you..."

She scoffed at the word help, and sniffed to get rid of her tears. The only people who could really help her, were the ones that had put her in this situation to begin with.

"You don't get what it's like at home. My parents are separating, and my dad's moved out. Things aren't the same, and they're never going to be the same again. They can't stand to be in the same room as each other without fighting and I just...Mrs. Hall this is going to make them flip their lid. I don't...I can't stand to be in any more trouble than I am at home...Please." Her voice cracked. So she laid it on a little thick at the end, she just didn't want her to call her parents.

Mrs. Hall looked at her with a softened expression. "I'm very sorry to hear that Sheridan. But it still does not excuse your behaviour." She tapped something out onto the keyboard in front of her. "We also have to have a meeting because of your marks. Now, I won't suspend you this time. But I do suggest you go and apologize to Mr. Wilson before you join your next period class."

She stared at the principal for a moment, biting back the expletive she was going to unleash and nodded her head. She sighed as she picked up her books.

"Oh Sheridan?" Mrs. Hall called. She turned to look at her, a bored expression crossing her features. "It will get better. Hang in there."

She rolled her eyes as she turned back around and left the office.

As soon as she got in the car that afternoon, she knew her Mom had spoken to Mrs. Hall. But what she didn't know, is how her Mother felt about it. Her face didn't show any emotion at all. Her words to her were short, clipped and to the point. She didn't mention the phone call directly, nor did she really even say when the meeting was. The anger and disappointment radiated off of her in droves. Sheridan almost wished her Mom would open her mouth and let her have it. But it never came. She only brightened when they stopped at the pre-school to pick up Autumn, who yammered on incessantly about some stupid painting she had made during art.

"No one cares Autumn."

"Sheridan, quiet. Just because you had a bad day does not mean the rest of us have to suffer with you." Rachel slapped. Her tone didn't invite any disagreement. Sheridan sat back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest as her Mom drove home. Bad day? Even worse evening.

When she walked into Mrs. Hall's office the next afternoon, she steeled herself for the confrontation that was going to occur. She'd heard her mother furiously typing on her phone all night, and she could only piece together that she was probably talking to her Dad. The expressions on her face had told her that much, but she hadn't asked. She wouldn't have lived to hear about it. She was in deep shit and she knew it.

She sat down in the chair in between her parents. Convenient, she thought. This way they didn't have to sit beside each other, and they could both strangle her at the same time. She slumped in the chair and crossed her arms over her chest just as Mrs. Hall started to talk.

"Mr and Mrs. Hudson, thank you for coming in on such short notice. As I said in our conversation that I had with you Mrs. Hudson, yesterday afternoon, both Mr. Wilson and I along with the rest of Sheridan's teachers are quite concerned about her for a number of reasons." She saw her father's jaw clench but her mother didn't flinch at all. "I'd like to start with a discussion about her academic performance." Mrs. Hall paused. "Mr. Wilson has brought it to my attention that Sheridan has yet to achieve a passing grade on any assignment or test in his class."

Mr. Wilson spoke up. "As we're approaching the end of the semester, it is quite alarming as you can imagine. I have offered Sheridan extra help on numerous occasions, but she has yet to take advantage of it even though she perceivably continues to struggle with the material. Currently, Sheridan is sitting at 37% grade, equalling an F."

She heard her mother gasp. Obviously Mrs. Hall had left out this part during the conversation they'd had last night. Sheridan wanted to sink into her chair. Mrs. Hall turned her computer screen towards her parents. There all her marks were in glorious black and white. The only good one? Her gym class mark.

"And as you can see here, along with a failing grade in math, Sheridan is also on the verge of failing English as well."

Her mother gasped again, this time turning to her.

"Sheridan, you used to love English..." Sheridan merely shrugged in response. Her mother sighed.

"What can she do to bring her mark up?" Her father instantly asked. Sheridan saw her mother nod in agreement. Wow, they actually agreed on something without arguing for hours on end about it. "She needs to pass math, in order to complete her freshman credits, right?"

Mr. Wilson nodded. "I would be willing to provide makeup assignments and work for Sheridan to complete for evaluation, in hopes of bringing up her mark."

"That's very kind of you. We appreciate it." Her mother added. "We'll make sure she completes it, and hands it in within a timely manner. Obviously we need to monitor her more closely when it comes to homework. We've had a bit of a situation at home which I had realized was effecting her school work so negatively." She added.

"Yes, Sheridan expressed yesterday that there has been some trouble at home. I understand there has been a change in..."

"They've separated. You don't have to get fancy about it." Sheridan mumbled. She could feel both her parents glare at her.

"Yes, we have decided to separate. And obviously that has interrupted our home routine..." Her mother added quietly.

"I'm very sorry to hear that." Mrs. Hall gave them a sympathetic look. "I do understand that the transition is difficult. Which also brings me to the other reason why we're here. Several teachers had noted a change in Sheridan's behaviour."

Here we go, she thought to herself.

"As I told you yesterday, Mrs. Hudson, Sheridan and Mr. Wilson had an altercation yesterday when he tried to speak to her about her marks. Sheridan turned defensive and defiant, choosing to use inappropriate language. Normally, this would result in an automatic suspension. But after speaking with Sheridan and hearing about your family complications, I decided to bring it to your attention instead. She has also apologized" Mr. Wilson nodded.

"I thought it was just something she was just doing with me. With us" Her mother gestured to her father. "Though I can't say I'm very surprised" She saw her Dad nod in agreement.

"I'm very sorry" Her mother turned to her teacher. "We'll speak with Sheridan about her behaviour. And I know I appreciate you coming to us with this information Mrs. Hall instead of suspending her." She paused. "I guess our separation is effecting her more than I thought."

Sheridan heard her father sigh, which was his silent way of disagreeing with her mother. Her mother could be the master of bullshit when she wanted to be.

Mrs. Hall nodded at her parents. "I appreciate your cooperation with this matter. While that was the first serious incident with a staff member, other teachers have noted that she has become just as defiant, and withdrawn within the classroom. Her attitude has taken a downward spiral and all of her teachers here are concerned about her."

Both her parents just nodded. "We'll speak with her" Her father stated, repeating her mother's words.

The meeting ended after a few more minutes of discussion, with her parents forcing her to apologize one more time to Mr. Wilson.

It's quiet between the three of them as they walked out of the principal's office. School's already been dismissed for the day and the halls are empty. Sheridan bit her lip as she looked at the ground.

"Get your stuff." Her father said simply. His tone didn't invite her to back talk at all, and she nodded. She marched down the hallway and sighed when she heard the distinct footsteps of them following behind her.

She reached her locker and quickly applied the code to her lock before swinging the door open. She grabbed her backpack and shoved her books in her bag before slamming the door closed.

"Do you have everything?" Her mother asked, raising an eyebrow. Sheridan quickly nodded. She had grabbed every textbook and every binder she'd need to do her homework. The only pressing items were her math assignments and to continue reading the book for silent study in English. She slammed the door closed and relocked it. Her mother immediately turned on her heel and walked towards the exit at the end of the hall. Her father walked beside her, but didn't really say anything.

"So this is what a death march feels like" She mumbled under her breath.

Her dad sighed loudly, and she could almost hear the exhaustion in his voice. "Knock it off Sheridan." She grunted in response.

When they got the parking lot, she stood between both her parents who were parked only a few spots apart.

"Get in the car Sheridan." Her mother snapped.

"Which one?"

"I don't really care. Just get in the car. We're going home."

"All of us?" She arched an eyebrow and looked between the two of them. Her mother huffed loudly, placed her hands on her hips and looked at her and her Dad.

"Yes. Your father is coming over for dinner. We're going to have a family discussion." Sheridan swallowed hard, and with one look at her mother she decided that maybe it was a good idea to get in the car with her father instead. She stalked over to his car and he pressed the key fob so the door was unlocked. She got in and slammed the door closed. She watched for a few minutes as her parents talked, her mother's hands gesturing wildly at her father. She watched her father scratch his head, before pulling his phone out of his pocket and holding it to his face while holding up a finger in her mother's face. She snickered when her mother stomped her foot.

Her father got in the car a few minutes later and immediately jammed his key into the ignition.

"What was that all about?" She asked quietly.

"Why does it concern you?' He asked back as he pulled out of his space and followed Rachel out of the parking lot and to the main road.

"Cause Mom looked pissed. Not that that's really different from any other time you guys are together..."

"Sheridan. Just stop. If you must know, we were trying to figure out who was going to watch Autumn while we have dinner."

"Oh."

He didn't say it, but she knew he meant who outside of their immediate family was going to watch her sister tonight. Which must mean that it was just going to be the three of them for dinner. Great.

It was silent for the beginning of dinner. Her and her Dad had stopped off at the grocery store and picked up one of those readymade chickens with a few salads. Clearly her mother had said she wasn't cooking. They each sat at the table, stabbing at the food on their plates. Flashes of the last time they had dinner together, just like this one ran through Sheridan's mind. Her stomach turned as she remembered how that had gone. That had been the dinner that her parents told her and Autumn they were separating. She was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. They were just too quiet. There was too much silence and the air was thick. She was just waiting for one of them to say something, anything at all. She could not take the silence anymore. It almost physically hurt.

She picked at her food, and shot her head up when she heard her mother's chair scrape against the floor as she stood up. She held her plate in her hand and she walked over to where her father was sitting, his plate pushed away from him, clean of food. Her mother reached over and picked up the plate.

"Thanks." She heard her father mumble before clearing his throat. She watched her mother nod slightly while biting her lip.

When she came back to the table she sat back in her chair and crossed her arms in front of her on the table top. Sheridan pushed her plate away and leaned back in her chair, her eyes down on the table in front of her.

"So are you going to let me have it, or what?" She stated, breaking the silence that had enveloped the three of them since dinner was served.

She saw them share a look, and for a moment it was almost like they were back to normal. Her father cleared his throat and leaned forward on the table.

"What is going on with you Sheridan?" He asked carefully. She could tell immediately that he was trying to keep his voice in check.

"What do you mean, what's going on with me?" She looked down at her hands and started picking at her nails.

"Answer the question." Her mother stamped out. "What is going on with you, at school?"

She sighed dejectedly and she looked up from her hands.

"You want to know what's up with me? Huh?" She looked from her Mom to her Dad and back again. "You actually want to know? You actually give a shit?" She arched her eyebrows at them.

"SHERIDAN!" Her Dad slammed his hands against the table, causing the remaining dishes to clatter. "Enough with your catty comments!" Her eyes widened as she stared at her father.

"Answer the question. What is going on with you? Why aren't you doing your homework? You..."

"I can't concentrate, okay? Is that what you want to hear? I can't concentrate on my homework long enough to get it done, and make sure it's done right. Every time I close my eyes all I hear is you guys fighting..." She crossed her arms over her chest as her voice wavered. "...or I see the way you guys stare at each other, waiting for the other to burst into flames. And it fucking hurts, okay? Our family is falling apart, and I seem to be the only one who gives a shit enough to want to even fight to keep us together..."

"Well you have a funny way of showing that you're fighting to keep us together, with your attitude and everything." Her mother started. "You've been disrespectful and hateful to both me and your father, and now it's happening at school? Sheridan this isn't you...and you're failing classes? That really isn't you..."

"Why do you even care?" She clenched her fists on the table. "All you've really cared about is making my life a living hell the last few weeks..."

"Sheridan, this isn't about us. It's about you."

"But it IS about you" She stabbed. "YOU did this when you walked out Dad." She narrowed her eyes at him before turning her gaze on her mother. "You did this, Mom when you let him."

"That's ENOUGH!" Her father raised his hand. "We are not talking about me, or your mother or what happened between us. This is about you. And how you're failing math? And almost failing English? And you're swearing at teachers? You are so unbelievably lucky that Mrs. Hall didn't suspend you. You need to snap out of this and stop making excuses for your poor behaviour because I, for one, have had enough of your crap Sheridan."

The tears burned in the corners of her eyes as she looked at her parents. "You know what, fine! What do you want me to say? Sorry that I don't get what Mr. Wilson is trying to teach? That I'm too embaressed to go for help, because the only times he's offered it is when I have glee club? And the only thing that makes me happy is that stupid club? I'm so FUCKING sorry that I'm human and have feelings. Not that you give a shit. All you care about is yelling at me, and making me feel so fucking small because I can't believe my family has turned into THIS." She sighed, her tears falling out of her eyes. "I'm sorry that I'm such a damn disappointment to everyone. Maybe I shouldn't have been born."
Both her parents stopped and looked at her, neither of them saying anything.

"Sheridan." Her mother said slowly. She watched her swallow. "I'm sorry that you feel that way. And it kills me that you do. But your behaviour has been inexcusable. I'm going to have to ground you for a week."

"WHAT?" She yelled. "I just told you that..."

Her mother held up her hand. "I'm grounding you, so you'll do your work. You NEED to get your homework and your grades under control. So you'll be allowed to go to glee, but I'm confiscating your phone and your laptop, and you'll only get them back each night when your work is completed..."

"Dad, you can't let her..." She turned to look at her father. "What if I need my computer for homework..."

"I agree with your mother. And you can use your laptop in the living room if you need it for homework." Her mother nodded in agreement much like he had with her. What twilight zone was this, they were getting along? God.

"This is so unfair." She sighed.

"No, what's unfair is the way you have been treating your mother and I, and the way you swore at Mr. Wilson. Your job is to do your schoolwork and you haven't been doing it so now we're going to help you get it finished so you don't have to go to summer school." He paused. "Maybe, just maybe this grounding will help you adjust your attitude as well."

She sighed again and wiped at her eyes angrily, looking at both of her parents before getting up from her chair.

"Sheridan?" Her mother called. She spun around on her heel and found them both standing there staring at her, her mother's hand outstretched towards her.

"What?"

"Can I have your phone please?" She asked softly. Sheridan rolled her eyes and dug into her pocket, finding her blackberry and handing it to her mother.

She stared at them for another minute before turning around and stomping up the stairs. She got to her bedroom and slammed her door behind her, throwing herself on her bed and sobbing into her pillow.

Her life was over.

The downstairs was quiet, and Sheridan could only determine that her parents had either killed each other, or had learned how to fight quietly. Either way there was no way she could tell what was going on downstairs, but she was sure she was the topic of conversation. She sighed as she sat up in bed and reached for her backpack that she had dumped beside her bed. Might as well put her jail sentence to good use and get some work done.

Thoughts?